iSISa^-contents 

iA-GHA?^pA:^:i 

lOOkSTACKS  

This  Course  in  eye  strengthening  is  presented  in 
28  lessons,  each  lesson  being  called  a Part.  To 
render  the  study  and  use  of  the  Course  more 
convenient,  the  lessons  are  published  in  a series 
of  fourteen  booklets.  Depending  on  their  length, 
from  one  to  three  lessons  appear  in  a booklet. 


5 


NAME  OF  PART 

Introductory . . . . 

Strong,  Beautiful  Eyes 

The  Anatomy  of  the  Human  Eye  . . . 

How  We  See:  The  Physiology  and 
Physics  of  Vision 

Asthenopia:  Weak  Eyes 

The  Imperfect  Sight  of  the  Normal  Eye 
Errors  of  Refraction  : Their  Cause  . . 

Errors  of  Refraction : Their  Cure  . . . 

\ 

Amblyopia 

Color  Blindness 

Strabismus:  Squint 

Saving  the  Sight  of  the  Children  . . . . 

Injuries  to  the  Eye 

Continued  on  Opposite  Cover 


PART 

I 

II 

III 


BV^JVWWJ^WAn^JWWJWWlfWySWAWUWVWVWWV^i■ 

UNIVERSITY  OE 
-iRARY 

AT  URF  .AMPAIGN 
.AGKS 


OF  m 

LlMfVERSITV  0P“  mj  jmo! 


STRENGTHENING 
THE  EYES 

^-7^ //ew'  Coujrse 
Scient/A'c  ^^eJhut/iin^ 


BERNARR,  MACFADDEN 


jj^iu/rpcip^  nr. 

j!  I ::  ’ ■ ■;'/ 


AT  URBINA- 


L ' V,-  i »v> 


GN 


T*ubtijhed  by 

Physical  Culture  Publishing  Company 

Aeto  yorK 


Copyright  1918  by 

PHYSICAL  CULTUEE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
New  York  City 


Cb^3■^^ 

\(h  A/ 


remote  sto 


15> 

CO 

zr 


THE  LIGHT  OF  THE  BODY  IS  THE  EYE 

Matthew  vi:  22 


a 

is 


48066 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/strengtheningeyeOOmacf 


Part  I 

INTRODUCTORY 


Bernarr  Macfadden,  founder  of  the  Physical  Culture  Maga- 
zine, author  of  “Vitality  Supreme,”  “Encyclopedia  of 
Physical  Culture,”  “Building  of  Vital  Power,”  “Manhood 
and  Marriage,”  etc. 

6 


STRENGTHENING 
THE  EYES 


A COURSE  OF 

SCIENTIFIC  EYE  TRAINING 


Eyes  speak  all  languages;  wait  for  no  letter  of  introduc- 
tion; they  ask  no  leave  of  age  or  rank;  they  respect  neither 
poverty  nor  riches;  neither  learning  nor  power,  nor  virtue,  nor 
sex,  but  intrude  and  come  again,  and  go  through  and  through 
you  in  a moment  of  time.— Emerson. 


PART  I 

Introductory 

Nearly  eighteen  years  have  passed  since 
my  interest  was  aroused  in  the  problem 
of  strengthening  the  eyes.  It  was  the 
result  of  an  experience  that  came  near  to  being 
tragical. 

No  one  can  adequately  measure  the  value  of 
sight;  but  when  we  feel  it  failing  we  can  in  some 
degree  realize  what  that  value  is.  Such  was  my 
case  on  the  occasion  referred  to.  At  the  time  I 


7 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


was  assuming  unusual  responsibilities  in  the 
editorial  and  business  management  of  the  Phys- 
ical Culture  Magazine,  the  publication  having 
recently  leapt  into  a prominent  position,  making 
the  work  extremely  difficult.  I had  also  under- 
taken to  write  an  important  book,  the  corre- 
spondence I was  receiving  having  led  me  to  see 
that  there  would  be  a large  demand  for  the  infor- 
mation that  I expected  to  include  therein. 

Before  having  done  any  work  on  the  book, 
except  to  divide  the  important  phases  of  the  sub- 
ject into  chapters,  I advertised  it,  thinking  it 
could  well  be  finished  and  printed,  ready  for  sale 
at  the  time  announced.  My  other  duties,  how- 
ever, were  so  exacting  that  I was  unable  to  begin 
writing  when  I expected  to. 

The  demand  for  the  work  was  extraordinary; 
orders  poured  into  the  office  at  the  rate  of  two 
or  three  hundred  a day,  and  further  delay  was 
out  of  the  question.  No  one  could  assume  my 
particular  duties  in  editing  and  publishing  the 
Physical  Culture  Magazine;  and  moreover, 
at  that  time  I had  no  assistant  editors,  or  proof- 
readers, to  relieve  me  of  details.  Therefore,  in 
order  to  get  any  time  for  the  book  I was  obliged 
to  labor  far  into  the  night.  By  working  night 
and  day,  however,  I was  able  to  finish  it  in  about 
thirty  days. 


8 


INTRODUCTORY 


But,  the  morning  after  the  last  corrected  proof 
had  been  returned  to  the  printer,  I was  appalled 
by  the  condition  of  my  eyes.  Vision  was  imper- 
fect in  many  ways,  and  on  picking  up  a news- 
paper, the  printed  page  appeared  like  solid  black. 

I realized  in  a few  seconds  the  value  of  my 
eyesight,  and  I did  some  rapid  and  serious 
thinking. 

I had  no  faith  in  oculists  and  less  in  other  doc- 
tors ; the  thought  of  consulting  them  did  not  even 
occur  to  me.  I knew  that  my  eyes  must  have 
been  affected  both  locally  and  constitutionally, 
for  not  only  had  they  been  subjected  to  extreme 
overwork,  but  this  overwork  had  lowered  my  gen- 
eral vitality.  Whatever  my  business  .responsi- 
bilities might  be,  I saw  that  a vacation  was  now 
necessary,  and  I accordingly  took  it. 

After  returning  to  my  duties  in  about  two 
weeks,  my  eyes  were  greatly  improved,  but  their 
condition  was  still  far  from  satisfactory.  I 
finally  concluded  to  take  a fast  of  one  week  in 
order  to  thoroughly  cleanse  my  physical  organ- 
ism. This  benefited  my  eyes  tremendously. 
Thereafter  I began  to  experiment  with  various 
eye  exercises  together  with  the  eye  bath,  massage, 
etc.,  and  my  eyes  soon  acquired  their  former 
vigor. 

Oculists  with  whom  I came  in  contact  during 
this  period  warned  me  of  the  dangers  of  adhering 


9 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


to  my  views.  Blindness,  they  said,  would  surely 
be  my  fate. 

In  recent  years  I have  been  informed  on  nu- 
merous occasions  that  the  eyes  naturally  begin  to 
deteriorate  after  forty  years  of  age,  and  that  total 
blindness  might  result  if  I did  not  assist  them 
with  glasses.  About  five  years  ago  ( I am  near- 
ing my  fiftieth  year),  when  I was  treating  hun- 
dreds of  patients  at  the  Bernarr  Macfadden 
Healthatorium  in  Chicago,  one  of  my  patients, 
an  oculist,  was  very  emphatic  in  his  warnings  as 
to  the  danger  I was  running  by  not  wearing 
glasses,  and  he  finally  induced  me  to  promise  him 
that  I would  try  a pair  if  he  sent  them  to  me  after 
he  returned  home.  The  glasses  arrived  in  due 
time,  but  after  wearing  them  for  about  ten  min- 
utes my  eyes  pained  me  so  severely  that  I had  to 
discard  them.  No  doubt,  they  were  not  adjusted 
to  the  condition  of  my  eyes,  but  I did  not  try  to 
improve  upon  them.  I have  refrained  from 
adopting  the  “eye  crutch”  up  to  the  present  time, 
and  I hope  that  for  many  years  to  come  I shall 
be  able  to  avoid  them.  As  a result  of  the  natural 
methods  of  treatment  already  explained,  my  eyes 
are  excellent  and  I work  strenuously  with  both 
brain  and  eyes  regularly  six  days  per  week,  and 
long,  tedious  days  at  that. 

When  my  book,  “Strong  Eyes,”  was  first  pub- 
lished, the  principles  presented  therein  were  to  a 


10 


INTRODUCTORY 


certain  extent  new,  but  I was  thoroughly  con- 
vinced of  their  correctness  and  thousands  of  read- 
ers have  attested  their  value  since  the  first  edition 
of  the  book  was  issued.  More  than  fifty  thousand 
copies  of  the"  book  have  been  sold,  and  in  no  in- 
stance have  I heard  of  an  injury  to  the  eyes 
because  of  the  use  of  the  methods  outlined 
therein;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  thousands  have 
borne  witness  to  extraordinary  benefit  derived 
from  them,  while  numbers  have  been  able  to  dis- 
card their  glasses  altogether  as  a result  of  their 
use. 

Consequently  this  Course  is  presented,  not  as  a 
mere  set  of  complex  and  untried  theories,  but  as 
an  aggregation  of  definite  and  practical  facts. 

- Some  years  ago  I came  in  contact  with  the  work 
of  a prominent  eye  specialist  who  is  a scientist  of 
high  standing  in  the  field  of  ophthalmology,  a 
graduate  of  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Sur- 
geons, Columbia  University,  New  York,  and  a 
member  of  the  American  Medical  Association. 
This  physician  began  his  studies  in  connection 
with  his  revolutionary  theories  in  1886.  It  was  in 
this  year  that  he  cured  his  first  case  of  myopia 
(near-sight).  Encouraged  by  this  success,  he 
treated  many  patients  at  the  New  York  Eye  In- 
firmary with  benefit,  accomplishing  some  com- 
plete cures.  While  he  was  at  the  New  York  Post 
Graduate,  his  success  was  such  as  to  bring  about 


11 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


the  loss  of  his  position,  the  eye  specialist  in  charge 
there  maintaining  that  such  cures  were  impossi- 
ble, and  this  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the 
proof  was  there  for  investigation. 

In  1903  this  physician  discovered  that  teachers 
could  not  only  prevent  the  occurrence  of  myopia 
among  their  pupils,  but  could  cure  it  by  the  use 
of  the  “Snellen  test  card.”  This  was  the  first  suc- 
cessful method  for  the  prevention  of  myopia 
and  other  cases  of  imperfect  sight  in  school 
children,  and  in  itself  is  a discovery  that  will 
greatly  benefit  humanity.  (See  New  York  Med- 
ical Journal,  July  29,  1911.)  In  1912  this 
method  was  introduced  into  some  of  the  public 
schools  of  the  city  of  New  York,  the  results  being 
published  in  the  New  York  Medical  Journal, 
August  30,  1913.  The  teachers  cured  one  thou- 
sand children  of  imperfect  sight  without  the  help 
of  glasses. 

During  the  last  five  years,  this  scientist  has 
made  many  experiments  on  rabbits,  fish,  cats  and 
dogs  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  information 
about  the  action  of  the  external  muscles  of  the 
eye.  By  this  means  he  has  been  able  to  bring  to 
light  many  facts  which  are  entirely  opposite  to 
the  theories  about  the  eye  published  in  text  books 
at  the  present  time.  These  experiments,  some  de- 
tails of  which  may  be  found  in  the  New  York 
Medical  Journal  for  May  8,  1915,  together  with 


12 


INTRODUCTORY 


his  untiring  studies  of  the  human  eye,  have  fur- 
ther led  this  physieian  to  formulate  a system  of 
eye  training  by  means  of  whieh  not  only  errors  of 
refraetion  but  almost  every  irregularity  of  the 
eye  ean  either  be  eured  or  materially  benefited 
without  the  help  of  glasses. 

Direetly  opposed  to  the  methods  and  theories 
of  orthodoxy,  this  system  is  not  only  revolution- 
ary in  charaeter,  but  far-reaching  in  its  practical 
importance. 

I feel  sure  that  in  collaborating  with  this  emi- 
nent scientist  I have  been  able  not  only  to  stamp 
my  own  theories  with  the  approval  of  up-to-date 
science,  but  to  present  to  the  public  a course  of 
eye  training  which  will  bear  the  most  searching 
criticism. 

It  is  scientific  and  practical,  and  has  been 
proven  conclusively  to  be  of  inestimable  value. 
It  should  enable  you  to  so  strengthen  yoUr  eyes 
that  glasses  will  not  be  needed  later  in  life,  while 
in  many  cases  it  will  enable  you  to  discard  the 
glasses  which  you  may  now  be  wearing ; it  should 
also  enable  many  to  avoid  the  loss  of  a possession 
priceless  in  value — the  sense  of  sight. 

This  course  is  sent  out  in  the  hope  that  it  will 
be  a boon  to  many  who  need  the  invaluable  infor- 
mation contained  herein.  That  it  requires  some 
effort  on  the  part  of  each  student  should  not  in 
any  way  lessen  its  value.  The  rewards  which 


13 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


await  those  who  follow  the  instructions  given  will 
be  beyond  price. 

Yours  vigorously, 


7/(Z 


14 


' • ‘ 


iiNP^/ERSITY  n>-  liumn! 

STRENGTHENING 
THE  EYES 

//ew  Couj'se  tn- 


BERNARR  MACFADDEN 


“Published  by 

Physical  Culture  Publishing  Company 


PART  II 


Strong,  Beautiful  Eyes 

“Eyes, 

Of  microscopic  power,  that  could  discern 
The  population  of  a dewdrop. 

— Montgomery. 

IT  is  undoubtedly  true  that  man  comes  into 
more  intimate  contact  with  the  outer  world 
through  the  sense  of  sight  than  through  any 
other,  or  perhaps  through  all  the  others  combined. 
In  the  case  of  the  other  senses,  outside  impressions 
or  “stimuli”  seem  to  come  to  the  man — to  im- 
pinge upon  him,  as  it  were;  but  in  the  case  of 
sight,  he  apparently  goes  outside  himself,  and 
actually  seems  to  project  himself  into  the  outer 
world — seeing  what  is  there,  actually  existing. 
We  know  now  that  this  subjective  impression  of 
the  facts  is  not  true;  but  the  feeling  is  there  none 
the  less.  We  can  also  direct  or  govern  the  sense 
of  sight  more  fully  than  any  other.  We  can 
“turn  away”  from  sights  we  do  not  wish  to  see, 
while  we  cannot  readily  stop  listening  to  sounds 
we  do  not  like  or  shut  out  smells  which  are  dis- 
agreeable to  us.  Sight  seems  to  be,  more  than 
any  other  sense,  in  touch  with  the  true  personality 
— ^the  godlike  self  within. 


2 


BEAUTIFUL  EYES 


Yet,  in  spite  of  their  great  value,  the  eyes  are 
among  the  most  delicate  organs  in  the  human 
body.  They  are  composed  largely  of  liquid,  are 
extremely  sensitive,  and  can  very  readily  be  de- 
stroyed altogether.  It  is  only  the  marvelous  pro- 
tective measures  of  nature  which  prevent  a 
greater  number  of  fatal  injuries  to  these  organs. 

Man,  more  than  any  other  animal,  depends 
upon  his  sense  of  sight,  for  in  his  case  the  other 
senses,  such  as  smell  and  hearing,  are  more  or  less 
“atrophied,”  or  stunted,  as  compared  with  their 
keenness  in  other  animals.  They  are  sometimes 
almost  lost  through  lack  of  use.  To  a certain  ex- 
tent this  is  true  of  the  sense  of  sight  also,  but  it 
is  less  true  here  than  in  the  other  instances,  the 
conditions  of  modern  life  requiring  the  almost 
constant  use  of  the  organs  of  vision. 

The  eye  in  the  lower  animal,  as  well  as  in  man, 
is  one  of  the  most  highly  specialized  structures  in 
the  body,  and  so  wonderful  in  contrivance  that  it 
is  rightfully  alluded  to  as  one  of  the  marked  in- 
stances of  the  beneficences  of  God  as  displayed  in 
creation.  Yet,  in  spite  of  the  depth  to  which  the 
ingenious  mind  of  man  has  penetrated  of  late 
years  .into  the  world  of  science,  this  most  impor- 
tant and  wonderful  organ  has  not  received  the 
amount  of  attention  given  to  many  other 
matters. 

Not  only  are  the  eyes  important  in  themselves. 


8 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


but  if  they  are  strained  or  injured  they  in  turn 
affect  the  general  nervous  system.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  what  we  call  “the  eye”  is  only 
the  eyeball;  the  whole  optical  apparatus  is  far 
more  extensive  than  this,  and  is  hidden  away  in 
the  socket.  By  means  of  the  optic  nerve  the  eye 
proper  is  connected  with  the  sight-centers  in  the 
brain;  and,  again,  the  eye  is  nourished  by  the 
blood,  which  circulates  to  and  in  these  parts.  All 
treatment  of  the  eyes  must,  in  a certain  sense,  be 
constitutional  (that  is,  general)  and  not  local; 
for  the  latter  method  of  treatment  would  be  very 
short-sighted,  and  fail  to  take  into  account  the 
fundamental  fact  that  the  eyes  are  a part  of  the 
body  and  dependent  upon  and  influenced  by  it. 

Emotions  and  expressions  are  mirrored  in  the 
eye.  The  “love  light  in  the  eye”  has  been  the 
theme  of  amatory  verse  in  all  ages  and  times,  and 
throughout  literature  we  find  endless  references 
to  the  expression  of  the  varying  emotions  of  the 
human  soul  by  the  eyes.  Passionate,  burning, 
cruel,  mystic,  gentle,  cunning,  hot,  cold,  etc.,  are 
among  the  adjectives  applied  to  them.  The 
character  is  depicted  by  the  eye  more  plainly,  per- 
haps, than  by  any  other  organ  of  the  body, 
courage,  dignity  and  power  being  expressed  by 
the  organs  of  vision  when  other  external  indica- 
tions of  these  attributes  are  lacking. 

Y et,  though  these  varying  motives  and  expres- 


4 


BEAUTIFUL  EYES 


sions  can  doubtless  be  read  in  the  eyes,  it  is  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  say  just  how  and  why  the 
eyes  betray  them. 

Some  authors  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  eye 
itself  never  changes,  but  only  the  muscles  directly 
around  it.  “These  muscles  vary  the  expression,” 
and  the  theory  seems  to  be  more  or  less  borne  out 
by  the  fact  that,  in  many  cases,  if  the  parts  adja- 
cent to  the  eyes  be  covered  up,  no  change  of 
expression  can  be  detected.  Other  authors,  on 
the  contrary,  contend  that  the  eye  itself  changes 
in  expression  and  have  advanced  arguments 
which  seem  to  prove  it.  This  is  an  interesting 
line  of  inquiry  which  the  student  might  follow  for 
himself  with  interest  and  profit. 

The  eye,  to  be  beautiful,  must  be  clear.  It 
must  be  free  from  defects,  such  as  squint  or  dull- 
ness ; the  lashes  must  be  of  the  proper  length,  the 
lids  healthy  and  the  whites  free  from  the  discol- 
orations of  impure  blood.  A perfect  digestion, 
a healthy  and  energetic  circulation  of  the  blood, 
a delicate  nervous  poise,  are  all  physical  prerequi- 
sites to  beautiful  eyes.  Form,  color  and  size  avail 
nothing  without  the  luster  and  brilliancy  of  ex- 
pression imparted  by  general  physical  health  and 
tone,  and  though  the  shape  and  color  of  the  eyes 
can  never  be  changed,  they  can  be  greatly  im- 
proved in  appearance  by  the  rational  system  of 
constitutional  and  hygienic  treatment  to  be  con- 
sidered later. 


5 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


The  unfortunate  tendency  of  modern  medical 
science  is  to  specialize  too  much;  and  under  the 
influence  of  this  tendency,  general  conditions  are 
often  ignored.  In  the  majority  of  cases  the  eye 
specialists  are  no  exception  to  this  rule.  They 
are  inclined  to  treat  the  eye,  too  often,  along 
purely  local  lines,  instead  of  recognizing  that  it  is 
a part  of  the  general  nervous  system  and  treating 
it  also  along  constitutional  lines.  Effects  have 
been  treated  instead  of  causes ; yet  it  is  plain  that 
the  causes  must  be  removed  if  we  are  ever  to  cure 
the  effects. 

The  prevalence  of  defective  eyesight  is  indeed 
alarming,  did  we  but  realize  it.  It  has  been  esti- 
mated that  from  25  to  50  per  cent  of  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  United  States  are  more  or  less 
short-sighted — ^to  cite  this  one  defect  alone.  At 
the  lowest  possible  estimate,  therefore,  at  least 
25,000,000  people  in  this  country  suffer  from 
myopia,  and  probably  a good  many  more  than 
this!  And  if,  to  this,  we  add  those  suffering 
from  hypermetropia  (or  long-sight),  presbyopia 
( old-age  sight ) , astigmatism,  squint,  color-blind- 
ness and  other  defects  of  vision,  we  are  surely 
safe  in  saying  that  the  great  majority  of  the 
inhabitants  of  America  are  afflieted  with  imper- 
fect vision,  and  all  the  ills  that  follow  in  conse- 
quence. 


6 


PART  III 


The  Anatomy  of  the  Human  Eye 

A SIMPLIFIED  exposition  of  the  struc- 
ture of  this  wonderful  organ  is  imperative 
in  a course  of  this  character  in  order  that 
the  pupil  may  understand  the  terms  which  follow, 
but  only  a very  brief  summary  can  be  attempted. 
For  a more  detailed  account  of  the  structure  and 
physiology  of  the  eye  the  student  is  referred  to 
larger  works. 

Normally,  the  eyeball  is  nearly  spherical  in 
shape,  and  has  three  membranes,  or  coats,  and 
three  humors.  The  external  coat  is  a thin,  tough 
membrane,  which  maintains  the  form  of  the  ball; 
the  sclerotic,  as  it  is  called,  forms  what  is  known 
as  the  “white  of  the  eye,”  and  includes  the  an- 
terior four-fifths  of  the  outer  coat;  the  anterior 
one-fifth  is  the  cornea,  a transparent  disk  joined 
to  the  sclerotic  somewhat  as  a watch-glass  is  set 
in  its  case.  It  can  be  plainly  seen  by  looking  at 
the  eye  sideways. 

The  next  coat  which  lies  against  the  inner  sur- 
face of  the  sclerotic  and  is  very  vascular,  is  called 
the  choroid. 

The  choroid  is  composed  of  a network  of  blood- 


7 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


Horizontal  and  sectional  view  of  the  structure  of  the  eye. 
(i)  Sclerotic  coat;  (2)  Choroid  coat;  (3)  Ciliary  body; 

(4)  Cornea — the  “watch  glass’’  in  front  of  the  eyeball; 

(5)  The  iris;  (6)  Anterior  chamber,  containing  aqueous 
humor;  (7)  Crystalline  lens  (pupil  between  Figures  6 and 
7);  (8)  Vitreous  Humor,  filling  the  eyeball;  (9)  Retina; 

(10)  Optic  nerve. 


vessels,  and  is  lined  with  a layer  of  pigment  cells, 
whose  duty  it  is  to  absorb  an  excess  of  light. 

The  iriSj  which  forms  a thin  curtain  behind  the 
cornea,  gives  the  eye  its  special  color  and  to  a 
large  extent  its  beauty.  The  color  of  the  iris  in 
newly  born  babies  is  blue,  and  the  differing  colors 
which  come  later  in  life  are  due  to  the  addition 
of  a greater  or  lesser  amount  of  dark  pigment. 
The  color  is  usually  more  or  less  in  uniformity 
with  the  general  coloring  of  the  individual. 


8 


THE  HUMAN  EYE 


The  pupil  is  in  the  center  of  the  iris,  and 
appears  black,  though  in  reality  it  is  clear  and 
transparent.  Through  it  the  rays  of  light, 
coming  from  any  object,  must  pass.  The  pupil 
has  the  power  of  contracting  or  expanding  un- 
der the  influence  of  light;  and  certain  drugs, 
such  as  opium  and  belladonna,  cause  it  to  con- 
tract or  dilate  unnaturally  for  long  periods  of 
time.  The  pupils  of  cats,  tigers  and  other  ani- 
mals appear  to  shine  in  the  dark;  and  for  long 
it  was  thought  that  this  phenomenon  was  due 
to  some  form  of  phosphorescence,  but  it  is 
now  known  to  be  merely  a reflection  from  the 
cornea. 

At  the  jimction  of  the  iris  and  choroid  is  found 
a narrow  band  of  delicate  muscular  fibers,  called 
the  ciliary  muscle.  This  little  muscle  has  been 
thought  to  play  a very  important  part  in  the 
workings  of  the  eye,  notably  in  its  “accommoda- 
tion,” and 
should  be 
r e m e m - 
bered,  as  it 
will  be  re- 
ferred to 
repeatedly 
further  on. 

The  ret- 
ina, the 


Simplified  diagram,  corresponding  to 
figure  on  opposite  page. 


9 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


View  of  eyeballs  from  above,  showing  the  muscles  and  ar= 
teries.  (i)  Crossing  of  the  optic  nerve;  (2)  Superior  rec= 
tus  muscle;  (3)  Inferior  rectus  muscle;  (4)  External  rec= 
tus  muscle;  (5)  Internal  rectus  muscle;  (6)  Superior 
oblique  muscle;  (7)  Inferior  oblique  muscle;  (8)  Lach= 
rymal  glands;  (9)  Eyelid  in  section;  (10)  Eyelid  from 
inside;  (ii)  Infra=orbital  artery;  (12)  Branch  to  the 
tear  gland;  (13)  Branch  to  the  retina;  (14)  Branch  to  the 
iris;  (15)  Branch  to  the  upper  eyelid;  (16)  Branch  to 
the  eyebrow;  (17)  Branch  to  the  cavity  of  the  nose. 


third  or  nervous  membrane,  lies  at  the  baek  of 
the  eye-wall,  and  upon  it  the  light-rays  enter- 
ing the  eye  are  thrown  or  “focused.”  It  is  an 
exceedingly  delicate  and  sensitive  structure, 
liable  to  injury  and  less  than  one-hundredth 
of  an  inch  thick.  Nevertheless  about  ten  differ- 
ent layers  have  been  found  within  it ! The  outer- 


10 


THE  HUMAN  EYE 


most  of  these,  called  “Jacob’s  membrane,”  has 
been  found  to  consist  of  minute  columns  arranged 
side  by  side  perpendicular  to  the  choroid,  while 
the  internal,  or  nerve-fiber  layer,  is  composed  of" 
delicate  nerve-fibrils  forming  a surface  parallel  to 
the  choroid. 

The  optic  nerve  passes  from  the  eye  to  the 
brain,  and  carries  the  nervous  impulses  which,  in 
the  sight-centers  of  the  brain,  are  converted  into 
the  “sensation  of  seeing.”  There  is  evidence  that 


Section  through  the  right  eye.  (i)  Upper  eyelid;  (2) 
Lower  eyelid;  (3)  Eyelid  lifting  muscle;  (4)  Superior 
rectus  muscle;  (5)  Inferior  rectus  muscle;  (6)  Inferior 
oblique  muscle;  (7)  Frontal  bone;  (8)  Superior  maxillary 
bone;  (9)  Fat;  (10)  Optic  nerve;  (ii)  Crystalline  lens; 

(12)  Vitreous  humor. 


11 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


the  optic  nerve  carries  impulses  that  result  in 
pain,  but  apart  from  this  it  can  carry  only  one 
kind  of  nerve  impulse,  that  of  sight.  Hence, 
when  it  is  stimulated,  by  whatever  means,  wheth- 
er normally  by  light,  or  by  an  electric  current,  or 
by  a blow,  we  get  the  impression  of  light,  or 
“seeing  stars.” 

The  three  humors  are  the  aqueous^  crystalline 
and  vitreous. 

The  vitreous  humor  occupies  about  four-fifths 
of  the  interior  of  the  ball ; it  is  colorless  and  trans- 
parent, and  somewhat  resembles  an  attenuated 
jelly.  It  is  solid  enough  to  maintain  the  shape 
of  the  eye,  while  at  the  same  time  yielding  readily 
under  pressure.  It  is  firm,  yet  elastic. 

The  crystalline  humor,  or  lens,  is  firmer  than 
the  vitreous,  but  not  solid,  and  is  shaped  some- 
what like  an  ordinary  magnifying  glass.  It 
grows  denser  with  age.  This  also  is  a very  im- 
portant part  of  the  eye,  and  will  be  dealt  with 
more  fully  in  the  discussion  of  errors  of  refrac- 
tion. 

The  aqueous  humor  is  nearly  pure  water,  and 
is  contained  in  the  space  between  the  cornea  and 
lens. 

The  orbit  is  the  hollow  cone  of  dense  protective 
bone  in  which  the  eye  is  set.  The  roof  of  the 
orbit,  however,  is  very  thin,  and  upon  this  the 
fore-brain  rests.  It  may  be  injured  by  a blow 


12 


THE  HUMAN  EYE 


from  beneath;  and  duelists  are  said  to  have  se- 
lected this  spot  for  a fatal  sword-thrust.  King 
Henry  II  of  France  was  accidentally  killed  at  a 
tournament  by  a lance  point  which  pierced  his 
brain  through  this  fragile  bone. 

The  eyebrows  are  formed  of  muscle  and  thick 
skin,  covered  with  hairs,  and  protect  the  eyes 
from  drops  of  sweat,  water,  dirt,  etc.,  which  might 
otherwise  find  their  way  into  the  eye. 

The  eyelid  is  also  a protective  covering,  com- 
posed of  a layer  of  loose  skin,  and  protects  the 
eyes  during  sleep,  when  the  ball  is  “everted,”  or 
turned  upwards. 

The  polish  and  transparency  of  the  cornea  are 
maintained  by  frequent  unconscious  winking, 
which  keeps  its  surface  moist  and  free  from  dust. 
The  mucous  lining  of  the  eyelids  is  always  more 
or  less  moist,  and  is  continuous  with  skin  at  the 
margin  of  the  lids.  After  lining  the  inner  sur- 
face of  the  lids  it  passes  over  to  the  ball,  forming 
a loose  fold,  which  is  the  only  direct  connection 
between  them;  hence  its  name,  conjunctiva.  It 
covers  the  front  part  of  the  sclerotic,  the  whole 
of  the  visible  portion,  and  lining  the  walls  of  the 
tear-duct,  becomes  continuous  with  the  membrane 
of  the  nose  and  throat,  and,  therefore,  usually 
takes  a part  in  a “cold  in  the  head,”  or  influenza. 
It  is  usually  transparent,  but  may  become  “blood- 
shot,” or  yellow,  as  in  jaundice.  Yellowness  re- 


13 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


suits  when  the  coloring  matter  of  the  bile  is 
deposited  in  the  conjunctiva. 

The  opening  between  the  lids  is  called  the  com- 
missure^ and  the  apparent  size  of  the  eyes  de- 
pends chiefly  upon  the  width  of  this  space.  The 
almond  shape  of  Oriental  eyes  is  due  to  the  unus- 
ual length  of  the  Assure  between  the  lids.  In  the 
Chinese,  the  outer  angle  of  the  commissure  is 
much  higher  than  the  inner,  giving  the  cleft  an 
obliquity  upwards  and  outwards.  This  has  a 
marked  effect  upon  the  whole  expression  of  the 
face. 

The  lachrymal  apparatus  consists  of  the  gland 
for  secreting  tears  and  the  passages  for  draining 
them  off.  The  “tear  glands”  are  situated  just 
above  the  outer  angle  of  the  eye,  and  a number 
of  small  ducts  carry  the  tears,  when  secreted,  to 
the  eye  itself.  After  passage  across  the  surface 
of  the  eye,  the  tears  are  taken  up  by  passages, 
which  commence  near  the  inner  angle  of  the  eye, 
and  are  conducted  into  the  nose.  The  tubes 
carrying  the  tears  to  the  nasal  passages  are  called 
the  lachrymal  canals.  Two  tiny  holes  or  outlets 
permit  the  tears  to  enter  these  canals  from  the 
eye  itself  (its  surface).  Tears  are  usually 
drained  off  in  this  manner,  and  only  “overflow” 
and  drop  off  the  lids  when  the  glands  are  excited 
by  excessive  emotion  or  by  local  irritation. 
“Sniffing”  is  usually  the  first  stage  of  a “good 


14 


THE  HUMAN  EYE 


cry.”  Infants  do  not  shed  tears  before  the  third 
to  fourth  month,  and  the  elephant  is  the  only  one 
of  the  lower  animals  accused  of  this  human  weak- 
ness— the  crocodile  to  the  contrary  notwith- 
standing ! 

The  eyeball  is  moved  in  various  directions  by 
a number  of  muscles,  attached  to  it  at  the  back, 
top,  bottom  and  sides.  It  can  thus  be  turned 
upwards,  downwards,  inwards  or  outwards,  or 
may  be  rotated.  When  these  muscles  are  uni- 
formly relaxed  or  acting  in  unison,  the  eye  is 
normal.  When,  from  any  cause,  one  set  of  mus- 
cles exerts  a stronger  pull  than  its  opposites,  a 
squint  is  produced.  When  the  muscles  contract 
excessively,  they  squeeze  the  eyeball  out  of  shape, 
elongating  it  or  the  reverse.  The  importance  of 
this  fact  we  shall  see  when  we  come  to  the  chapter 
devoted  to  errors  of  refraction. 


15 


f‘  1/ 


OF  ■*“H£ 
fjfv^^FP^r^  nr  n i iMoi 


STRENGTHENING 
THE  EYES 

— J/ew  Coui'^se  iiz^ 
Scionti&c 


in  23  J^essojzs 


By 

BERNARR  MACFADDEN 


VuhiUhed  by 

Physical  Culture  Publishincf  Company 

y orK. 


Copyright  1918  by 

PHYSICAL  CULTUEE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
New  York  City 


PART  IV 


How  We  See:  The  Physiology  and  Physics 
OF  Vision 


The  act  of  seeing  is  one  of  the  greatest  mys- 
teries in  the  world.  To  the  ancients  it  was 
an  even  greater  mystery  than  to  us,  and 
continued  to  be  so  until  the  great  astronomer 
Kepler  noted  the  resemblance  between  the  human 
eye  and  the  camera,  and  demonstrated  that  images 
of  external  objects  are  formed  by  the  organs  of 
vision  exactly  as  they  are  by  the  photographer’s 
apparatus.  In  the  eye,  the  rays  of  light,  coming 
from  the  object  seen,  traverse  the  eyeball  and  fall 
upon  the  sensitive  retina  (the  “plate”  of  the  cam- 
era), from  which  they  are  conveyed  to  the  sight- 
centers  of  the  brain  by  the  fibers  of  the  optic 
nerve.  That  is,  the  impression  which  they  hav^e 
created  upon  the  retina  is  so  conveyed. 

In  order  to  understand  the  optics  and  physics 
of  the  eye,  and  of  sight,  it  is  necessary  to  say  a 
few  words  concerning  light,  and  reflecting  and 
refracting  bodies  and  surfaces. 

Light  is  primarily  given  forth  by  self-luminous 
bodies,  such  as  a candle  or  the  sun;  and  every- 
thing else  is  reflected  light.  The  earth  reflects 


3 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


the  rays  of  the  sun,  and  this  gives  us  our  “day- 
light.” When  this  reflection  is  cut  off,  dense 
blackness  prevails.  The  spaces  between  the  stars 
are  inky  black,  for  there  is  no  solid  body  to  reflect 
the  rays  coming  from  the  sun.  Rays  of  light  are 
reflected  when  the  body  on  which  they  shine  sends 
them  back.  And  if  the  light  strikes  a reflecting 
surface  at  an  angle,  the  reflected  angle — the  so- 
called  “angle  of  reflection” — is  always  equal  to 
the  “angle  of  incidence,”  or  the  direction  of  the 
shaft  of  light  striking  the  object. 

The  white  light  we  see  is  composed,  as  we 
know,  of  seven  primary  colors.  Some  bodies  ab- 
sorb some  of  these  vibrations,  and  reflect  others; 
and  when  this  is  the  case  such  bodies  are  said  to 
be  colored  in  various  ways.  The  color  of  any 
object  is  not  inher  ent  in  it,  but  is  due  solely 

to  the  fact  that  some  of  the  light-rays 

are  reflected  and  some  absorbed.  Those 

which  are  refle  / cted  constitute  its  “color.” 


/ 


/ 

/ 


/ Refraction  of  light  by 


surface  of  water,  illustr 


f by  the  coin  which  in  an 
/ empty  cup  may  be  invisible 
/ and  which  appears  to  move 


upward  and  come  within 


the  range  of  vision  when 


the  cup  is  filled  with  water, 
Refraction  is  also  seen  in 
the  appearance  of  the  bend- 


ing  of  a stick  or  pencil 
immersed  in  water,  when 
looking  at  it  from  above. 


HOW  WE  SEE 


Refraction  of  light  rays  passing 
through  concave  lens,  becoming 
divergent. 


When 
rays  of  light 
pass  from 
one  medium 
into  another 
of  different 
density,  they 
are  bent  out 
of  their  nor- 
mal course,  which  is  one  of  parallel  lines.  A 
simple  experiment  which  demonstrates  this  is 
that  in  which  a small  coin  is  thrown  into  a basin 
of  water.  It  appears  to  be  in  a certain  place,  but 
if  an  attempt  be  made  to  touch  it  in  this  place  it 
is  found  to  be  not  there  at  all,  but  somewhere  else ! 
“Appearances  are  deceptive.”  This  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  water,  being  of  a density  different  from 
that  of  air,  bends  the  rays  of  light  and  makes 
them  take  a different  direction ; they  are,  in  short, 
^'refracted"'  By  suitable  means,  these  light-rays 
can  be  straightened  out  again;  they  may  also  be 
refracted  any  number  of  times  and  in  various 
ways. 

Thus,  a plain,  flat  sheet  of  glass  will  bend  all 
the  light  rays  which  pass  through  it  at  the  same 
angle.  They  are  neither  diverged  (scattered), 
nor  brought  to  a point  (converged).  When, 
however,  the  glass  is  double  “convex,”  the  rays 
of  light  are  brought  together  into  a "'focus/' 


5 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


When  it  is 
double  “con- 
cave,” the  light- 
rays  are  scat- 
tered, or  di- 

1 Refraction  of  light  rays  passing 

verged.  through  convex  lens,  becoming  con= 

We  have  seen 

that  light-rays  passing  through  a double  con- 
vex glass  or  lens  converge  at  a certain  point, 
and  if,  at  that  point,  we  place  a screen, 
we  catch  an  image  of  the  object  from  which 
they  proceed.  In  the  eye,  precisely  this 
phenomenon  takes  place.  The  cornea  and  crys- 
talline lens  focus  the  light-rays  upon  the  retina 
at  the  back  of  the  eye,  which  catches  the  image, 
and  from  this  point  the  impression  is  carried 
along  the  optic  nerve  to  the  brain,  as  before 
described.  When  the  rays  are  focused  exactly 
upon  this  delicate  surface,  the  impression  is  clear 
and  distinct.  Otherwise  it  is  blurred,  or  sight 
may  fail  altogether. 

All  parts  of  the  retina  are  not  equally  sensi- 
tive to  visual  impressions.  The  most  sensitive 
portion  is  a small  space  directly  in  the  line  of 
vision,  called  the  yellow  spot,  from  a yellow 
tinge  seen  in  it  after  death.  Indeed,  this  is  the 
only  spot  which  admits  direct  vision.  In  all 
other  places  it  is  more  or  less  blurred.  We  can 
see  only  one  thing  at  a time  clearly;  the  rest 


6 


HOW  WE  SEE 


Illustrating  the  refraction  of  rays 
of  light  from  distant  and  nearby 
points.  The  parallel  rays,  from  a 
distant  point,  are  concentrated  at  a 
point  much  closer  to  the  lens  than 
the  divergent  rays  from  a nearby 
point,  which  are  focused  further 
back.  This  is  also  demonstrated  by 
the  familiar  experience  of  focusing 
light  rays  in  a camera. 


fades  out  and  becomes 
blurred  as  it  recedes 
from  the  central  point. 
Not  far  from  this 
most  sensitive 
spot  there  is  a 
''blind  spof'  on 
the  retina, 
which  is  unable 
to  see  anything. 
We  have  one  in 
each  eye,  but 
the  eyes  are  so 


adjusted  that  when  one  eye  is  blind  the  other 
sees,  and  vice  versa.  This  blind  spot  is 
at  the  entrance  of  the  optic  nerve  to  the  retina, 
and  its  locality  can  easily  be  seen  in  the  accom- 
panying diagram. 

To  prove  the  existence  of  the  blind  spot: 

Close  the  left  eye  and  direct  the  right  eye  to 
the  small  cross  on  the  left  hand  side  of  the  fig- 
ure. Hold  the  page  vertically  before  the  eye, 
ten  or  twelve  inches  off,  and  then  gradually  bring 
it  nearer,  still  keeping  the  gaze  fixed  upon  the 
cross.  The  round  spot  will  also  be  visible,  except 
at  a certain  distance  from  the  eye,  about  seven 
inches,  when  it  will  disappear  from  view.  Its 
image  falls  upon  the  point  of  entrance  of  the 
optic  nerve. 


7 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


Diagram  illustrating  myopia  or  near= 
sightedness,  rays  of  light  from  a distance 
falling  in  front  of  the  retina. 


We  have 
seen  that  a 
double  con- 
V e X lens 
will  focus 
light-rays 
at  a certain 
point  or 
distance 


beyond  it ; this  distance  will  depend  upon  the  de- 
gree of  convexity  of  the  lens.  If  it  is  only  slightly 
convex,  the  focal  point  will  be  some  distance 
away,  while  if  it  is  very  much  curved,  the  focal 
point  will  be  very  near.  We  have  only  to  alter 
the  degree  of  convexity  of  the  lens  to  insure  the 
focusing  of  the  rays  at  any  desired  distance 
(within  limits). 

Now,  the  lens  of  the  eye  is  like  any  other  lens 
in  this  respect;  and  it  was  long  ago 


8 


HOW  WE  SEE 


Diagram  illustrating  hypermetropia,  or  far= 
sightedness,  light  rays  from  nearby  points 
being  focused  behind  the  retina. 


t e r e d in 
shape,  by 
\ means  of 
muscular 
tension  or 
otherwise, 
rays  of 
light  com- 
ing from 


different  distances  could  be  focused  accurately 
upon  the  retina.  It  has  been  believed  for  many 
years  that  the  eye  adjusts  itself  for  vision  at  dif- 
ferent distances  by  this  means,  and  the  theory, 
which  was  accepted  mainly  upon  the  authority  of 
Helmholtz,  is  the  basis  of  the  teaching  in  all  the 
text  books  on  ophthalmology  today.  This  change 
of  focus  is  called  “accommodation,”  and  is  sup- 
posed to  be  effected  by  means  of  the  ciliary 
muscle. 

It  is  upon  this  doctrine  that  the  treatment  of 
refractive  errors  by  means  of  glasses  is  based,  for 
the  practice  followed  the  doctrine.  Rays  of  light. 


Diagram  illustrating  how  the  image  is  thrown  upon  the 
retina  in  the  “blind  spot”  experiment.  The  circle  marks 
the  spot  of  entrance  of  the  optic  nerve  (the  eyeball  in  this 
Diagram  is  proportionately  small). 


9 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


An  experiment  on  the  eye  of  a carp  demonstrating  that 
the  lens  is  not  a factor  in  accommodation.  In  the  upper 
picture  the  eye  is  normal  and  accommodates  normally 
when  stimulated  by  the  electrode.  In  the  lower  the  lens 
has  been  pushed  out  of  the  line  of  sight  by  an  instrument 
the  point  of  which  can  be  seen  in  the  pupil.  The  eye  is  then 
stimulated  by  electricity  and  accommodates  precisely  as  in 
the  upper  picture. 


10 


HOW  WE  SEE 


Production  of  astigmatism  in  the  eye  of  a carp  by  changing 
the  shape  of  the  eyeball.  In  the  upper  picture  the  pull  of 
two  strings  attached  to  the  conjunctiva  has  made  the 
cornea  oval.  In  the  lower  one  the  string  has  been  cut,  the 
cornea  has  resumed  its  natural  shape  and  the  eye  is 

normal. 


11 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


A diagram  for  demonstrating  the  “blind  spot”  on  the 
retina  which  is  the  point  at  which  the  optic  nerve  enters. 
Closing  the  left  eye  and  holding  the  diagram  vertically 
ten  or  twelve  inches  in  front  of  the  right  eye,  look  fixedly 
upon  the  cross  and  gradually  bring  the  diagram  nearer. 
At  from  seven  to  nine  inches  the  black  spot  will  suddenly 
disappear  from  the  vision  because  the  image  falls  upon 
the  “blind  spot.” 


we  were  told,  were  converged  by  the  lens  upon 
the  retina  very  well  so  long  as  the  eyes  were  nor- 
mal and  the  lens  ‘‘worked.*’  But  when  this  was 
no  longer  possible  or  easy,  for  any  reason,  then 
an  extra  lens  was  prescribed  to  assist  in  bending 
the  light  rays,  so  that  they  should  fall  precisely 
upon  the  retina,  and  enable  the  patient  to  see 
clearly.  Theoretically,  this  removed  the  strain 
from  the  eyes,  and  assisted  them  in  their  efforts 
to  see. 

As  we  shall  see,  however,  when  we  come  to 
the  discussion  of  refractive  errors,  this  theory 
of  accommodation,  perfect  as  it  may  be  theoret- 
ically, is  erroneous,  its  general  acceptance  being 
due  to  the  fact  that  eye  specialists  have  never 
paused  to  consider  the  alternate  explanation  of 
the  facts,  namely,  the  possibility  of  moving  the 
screen  upon  which  the  convergent  rays  ought  to 
fall  to  the  point  at  which  they  are  focused.  Leav- 


12 


HOW  WE  SEE 


Experiment  on  the  eye  of  a carp  demonstrating  that  the 
changes  in  the  shape  of  the  eyeball  upon  which  errors  of 
refraction  depend  are  due  to  the  action  of  the  eye  muscles. 
In  the  first  picture  the  eye  is  normal.  In  the  second  the 
eyeball  has  been  shortened  and  hypermetropia  produced  by 
strengthening  the  pull  of  the  straight  muscles,  through 
shortening  or  advancement.  The  rule  shows  that  both 
pictures  were  taken  at  the  same  distance  from  the  camera. 

13 


STRENC^THENIlSrG'  THE  EYES 

ing  the  lens  alone,  in  other  words,  might  not  the 
retina  be  brought  forward,  or  moved  farther  back, 
by  some  internal  muscular  movement,  according 
to  whether  the  eye  desired  to  adjust  itself  for 
near  or  for  distant  vision?  That  this  is  the  true 
explanation  of  the  facts  has  now  been  conclu- 
sively proven.  It  can  be  and  has  been  demon- 
strated, both  clinically  and  by  means  of 
anatomical  dissections  and  observations,  that  the 
retina  is  moved  backward  and  forward  by  mus- 
cular action  in  the  process  of  accommodation,  and 
that  when  this  movement  does  not  take  place 
normally,  the  cure  lies  in  getting  control  of  the 
muscles  concerned,  not  in  the  wearing  of  glasses. 


14 


/ 


mmm 


IIEMY 
OF  TH£ 


THE  EYES 

//enr  Coujtsq  jiz^ 


JI2  23  Lessons 


BERNARR  MACFADDEN 


VuhlUhtd  by 

Physical  Culture  Publishini;  Company 

yorK, 


Copyright  1918  by 

PHYSICAL  CULTUEE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
New  York  City 


7?h 


PART  V 


Asthenopia:  Weak  Eyes 


Normal,  healthy  eyes  should  be  strong, 
clear,  alert  and  full  of  expression.  When 
they  are  dull,  weak  or  lacking  in  expres- 
sion, we  may  be  sure  there  is  something  physically 
or  mentally  wrong  with  their  possessor.  Every- 
one has  noted  the  meaningless  expression  in  the 
eyes  of  the  drunkard — how  they  roll  about  in  a 
heavy,  lustreless  way  in  their  sockets.  This  suffi- 
ciently demonstrates  the  intimate  relationship 
between  the  eyes  and  the  general  nervous  sys- 
tem. Indeed,  it  may  be  said  that  the  eyes  are 
a fair  indication  of  the  condition  of  the  stomach 
and  of  the  whole  system.  Excessive  eating, 
^ drinking,  smoking,  worrying  or  other  debilitating 
practices  are  sure  to  be  recorded  sooner  or  later 
in  these  delicate  and  sensitive  structures. 

When  the  body  is  normal  and  healthy,  the 
blood  furnished  to  the  eyes  is  pure  and  clear. 
Strong  eyes  are  the  result.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  digestion  is  out  of  order  and  the  blood  is 
impure,  or  loaded  with  unassimilated  mate- 
rial, then  the  eyes  grow  dull  and  heavy;  their 
power  of  vision  is  impaired  no  less  than  their 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


beauty,  and  a wholesale  degeneration  of  their 
tissues  results.  - 

Eye  defects  of  this  character  are  almost  in- 
variably due  to  some  constitutional  weakness  or 
defect,  and  not  to  the  local  causes  to  which  they 
are  often  ascribed.  This  will  become  more  appar- 
ent as  we  proceed.  Most  oculists  and  opticians 
have  a tendency  to  treat  the  eye  as  a detached 
organ,  without  any  relation  at  all  to  the  rest  of 
the  body,  the  blood  stream  or  the  nervous  struc- 
ture. This  is  irrational,  and  it  is  impossible  that 
any  permanent  good  should  come  of  it.  The 
connection  between  the  eye  and  the  rest  of  the 
body  is  most  intimate,  and  any  form  of  poisoning, 
or  weakness,  in  the  latter  at  once  manifests  itself 
in  the  former.  Under  these  circumstances  local 
treatment  is  useless  without  improvement  of  the 
general  physical  condition.  Only  vigorous  bodily 
exercise,  proper  diet,  deep  breathing  and  general 
invigoration  can  build  up  the  system  and  place 
it  on  that  high  plane  of  energy  which  is  essential 
to  the  health,  strength  and  beauty  of  the  eyes. 

The  causes  to  which  the  deplorable  condition 
of  civilized  eyes  is  usually  ascribed,  such  as  pro- 
longed use  for  near  work,  improper  lighting,  etc., 
are  only  injurious,  as  we  shall  see  later,  when 
the  eyes  are  not  properly  used. 

It  usually  takes  a long  time  to  tire  out  the 
eyes,  and  they  recuperate  very  rapidly  under 


4 


WEAK  EYES 


proper  care.  Of  course,  if  things  have  been 
allowed  to  go  too  far,  a long  course  of  treatment 
may  be  essential,  but  even  then  it  is  astonishing 
to  see  how  rapidly  recovery  will  take  place. 

Resorting  to  glasses  as  soon  as  any  visual  dis- 
comfort is  experienced  is  a mistake — for  reasons 
to  be  set  forth  later.  The  eyes  are  thus  supplied 
with  a crutch  which  partially  supports  them,  but 
which,  at  the  same  time,  keeps  them  artificially 
strained.  The  natural  result  is  that  they  call  for 
rtiore  and  more  powerful  lenses.  The  proper 
thing  to  do  in  such  cases  is  to  find  out  and  remove 
the  cause  of  the  condition,  whether  constitutional 
or  local.  Then  all  palliative  measures  will  become 
unnecessary. 


5 


PART  VI 


The  Imperfect  Sight  of  the  Normal  Eye 

In  the  following  discussion,  based  upon  the  experience  of  a 
scientist  who  has  specialized  in  the  field  of  ophthalmology,  are 
presented  facts  of  the  greatest  practical  importance,  not  only 
to  all  those  who  desire  to  have  perfect  sight,  but  to  those 
whose  safety  depends  upon  the  sight  of  others.  Revolutionary 
as  these  statements  are,  they  are  supported  by  such  wealth  of 
evidence  that  they  cannot  well  be  questioned. 

IT  is  generally  believed  that  the  normal  eye  has 
perfect  sight  all  the  time. 

It  has  been  compared  to  a perfect  machine 
which  is  always  in  good  working  order.  No  mat- 
ter what  the  object  regarded  may  be,  whether 
new,  strange  or  familiar,  whether  the  light  is  good 
or  imperfect,  whether  the  surroundings  are  pleas- 
ant or  disagreeable,  orthodoxy  teaches  that  the 
normal  eye  is  always  normal  and  that  the  sight  is 
always  perfect.  Even  under  conditions  of  nerve 
strain  and  bodily  disease,  the  normal  eye  is 
expected  to  have  perfect  sight  always. 

This  idea  is  very  far  from  the  truth.  Thirty 
years  of  special  study  given  to  the  refraction  of 
the  eye  have  proven  that  the  normal  eye  has  im- 
perfect sight  most  of  the  time.  It  is  unusual,  in 
fact,  to  find  persons  who  can  maintain  perfect 
sight  continuously  for  longer  than  a few  minutes 


6 


SIGHT  OF  NORMAL  EYES 


even  under  the  most  favorable  conditions.  Of 
twenty  thousand  school  children  more  than  half 
had  normal  eyes  with  perfect  sight,  but  not  one 
of  them  had  perfect  sight  in  each  eye  every  day. 
The  sight  of  many  of  them  might  be  good  in  the 
morning  and  imperfect  in  the  afternoon,  while 
many  with  imperfect  sight  in  the  morning  would 
have  perfect  sight  in  the  afternoon. 

Many  children  could  read  some  letters  of  the 
alphabet  perfectly,  but  were  unable  to  distinguish 
others  of  the  same  size  under  similar  conditions. 

The  degree  of  the  imperfect  sight  varied 
within  wide  limits  from  one-third  of  the  normal 
to  one-tenth  or  less;  the  duration  of  the  imperfect 
sight  of  the  normal  eye  was  also  variable.  Under 
some  conditions  in  the  classroom,  the  imperfect 
sight  might  continue  for  only  a few  minutes  or 
less.  Under  other  conditions,  however,  a small 
number  of  pupils  (sometimes  all  the  pupils  with 
normal  eyes ) would  have  sufficient  loss  of  sight  to 
prevent  them  from  seeing  writing  on  the  black- 
board for  days,  weeks,  or  even  longer. 

Neither  do  adults  with  normal  eyes  have  per- 
fect sight  all  the  time;  what  has  been  said  of  the 
normal  eyes  of  school  children  being  equally  true 
of  their  elders.  Age  is  no  exception,  for  persons 
over  seventy  years  of  age  with  normal  eyes  have 
had  attacks  of  loss  of  sight  variable  in  degree 
and  duration.  A man  aged  eighty  with  normal 


7 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


eyes  had  periods  of  imperfect  sight  which  would 
last  from  a few  minutes  to  several  hours  or  longer. 
The  retinoscope  always  indicated  an  error  of  re- 
fraction when  the  sight  of  the  normal  eye  was 
imperfect. 

Many  adults  with  normal  eyes,  as  well  as 
children,  have  attacks  of  color  blindness.  One 
patient,  with  normal  eyes,  perfect  sight  and  per- 
fect color  perception  in  the  daytime,  had  always 
been  color-blind  at  night ; he  had  no  perception  of 
colors  after  sunset.  It  is  also  true  that  all  per- 
sons with  normal  eyes  are  less  able  to  distinguish 
colors  correctly  during  the  time  that  their  sight 
is  imperfect  in  other  respects. 

Accidents  on  railroads,  at  sea  and  on  the 
streets  occur,  usually,  because  the  normal  eyes 
of  the  responsible  persons,  for  a time,  had  imper- 
fect sight.  When  nervous  children  or  adults  cross 
the  street,  they  become  confused,  and  are  struck 
down  by  automobiles  or  trolley  cars  for  the  rea- 
son that  they  lose  their  sight,  although  they  have 
normal  eyes. 

Unfamiliar  objects  almost  always  produce  eye 
strain  and  are  imperfectly  seen.  School  children 
with  normal  eyes,  who  can  read  small  letters  one- 
quarter  of  an  inch  high,  at  a distance  of  ten  feet, 
always  have  trouble  in  reading  strange  writing 
on  the  blackboard,  although  the  letters  may  be 
as  large  as  two  inches  high.  Myopia,  either  tem- 


8 


SIGHT  OF  NORMAL  EYES 


iporary  or  permanent,  is  always  produced. 
Strange  maps  always  produce  imperfect  sight  in 
the  normal  eyes  of  school  children  because  they 
cause  a strain  or  effort  to  see. 

The  strain  may  be  an  unconscious  one,  or  it 
may  produce  pain,  discomfort  or  fatigue.  Often 
the  strain  may  be  a conscious  effort  without  the 
production  of  discomfort.  However,  in  all  cases 
of  strain,  conscious  or  unconscious,  it  can  be  dem- 
onstrated that  the  eyes  do  not  see  best  where  they 
are  looking. 

When  normal  eyes  are  used  for  near  work,  they 
are  seldom  properly  focused.  The  retinoscope 
demonstrates  to  us  the  fact  that,  when  an  effort 
is  made  to  see  more  clearly  at  either  twelve 
inches,  twenty  inches,  or  less  than  twelve  inches, 
the  eyes  are  always  focused  at  a greater  distance 
with  the  production  of  astigmatism.  This  is  usu- 
ally temporary,  but  may  become  permanent. 
School  -children  and  adults  learning  to  read, 
write,  draw,  sew  or  to  do  mechanical  work,  suffer 
from  defective  vision,  although  they  have  normal 
eyes.  This  matter  is  of  such  great  practical  im- 
portance in  the  education  of  children  that  the 
attention  of  teachers  should  be  called  to  the 
facts.* 

Many  children  lose  interest  in  their  school  work 

• See  New  York  Medical  Journal,  August  30,  1913,  Myopia 
Prevention  by  Teachers. 


9 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


and  actually  become  truants  and  incorrigibles 
from  this  one  cause. 

Light  has  a very  important  effect  on  the  vision 
of  the  normal  eye;  an  unexpected  strong  light 
always  produces  defective  vision.  The  vision  of 
all  persons  is  imperfect  when  the  eyes  are  first 
exposed  to  the  strong  light  of  the  sun,  or  to  any 
strong  artificial  light.  Rapid  or  sudden  changes 
in  the  intensity  of  the  light  always  produce  de- 
fective vision,  not  sufficiently  great  to  be  manifest 
to  the  individual,  but  always  to  be  demonstrated 
by  careful  test  of  the  vision  and  by  use  of  the 
retinoscope.  The  defective  vision  produced  by 
strong  light  may  be  temporary,  but  it  has  been 
observed  to  continue  in  many  cases  for  a number 
of  weeks,  frequently  running  into  months,  al- 
though it  is  never  a permanent  disability.  If 
persistently  regarded,  a strong  light,  after  a time, 
becomes  beneficial.  Some  persons  have  become 
able  to  look  directly  at  the  strong  light  of  the 
sun  without  any  loss  of  vision  whatever. 

At  night,  or  in  a dim  artificial  light,  the  vision 
becomes  imperfect  and  the  retinoscope  always 
indicates  an  error  of  refraction. 

Noise  is  a frequent  cause  of  defective  vision  of 
the  normal  eye.  All  persons  see  imperfectly 
when  they  hear  any  unexpected  loud  sound. 
Familiar  noises  do  not  usually  lower  the  visual 
power,  but  unfamiliar,  new  or  strange  noises. 


10 


SIGHT  OF  NORMAL  EYES 


which  cause  shock,  always  do,  with  the  produc- 
tion of  a temporary  error  of  refraction.  Country 
children  from  quiet  schools,  after  they  move  to  a 
noisy  city,  often  suffer  from  defective  vision  for 
long  periods  of  time.  In  the  classroom  they 
rarely  do  well  with  their  work  because  of  im- 
paired sight.  It  is  a gross  injustice  for  teachers 
and  others  to  criticise,  scold  or  humiliate  such 
children. 

The  reading  of  distant  small  familiar  letters 
for  a few  minutes,  at  least,  every  day  is  very 
successful  in  preventing  the  imperfect  sight 
of  the  normal  eye,  as  it  tends  to  prevent  strain 
in  looking  at  unfamiliar  objects.  Not  only  the 
Snellen  eye  chart,  but  a calendar,  a sign  with 
small  letters,  or  even  a single  small  letter, 
may  be  used  for  such  practice.  The  good  results 
of  this  simple  system  of  eye  training  justify  its 
use  in  schools,  in  the  Army  and  Navy,  in  the 
Merchant  Marine  and  on  Railroads,  as  well  as 
by  every  one  who  desires  or  needs  continuous 
perfect  sight. 


11 


PART  VII 


Errors  of  Refraction  : Their  Cause 


In  the  two  Parts  following'  are  presented  the  results  of  over 
thirty  years  of  labor  upon  the  part  of  a physician  of  high 
scientific  standing.  Until  he  discovered  that  errors  of  refrac- 
tion were  merely  functional  derangements,  it  was  universally 
believed  that  they  were  incurable.  His  experiments  have 
proved  beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt  that  these  conditions 
are  due  to  the  abnormal  action  of  the  muscles  and  that  their 
cure  is  therefore  a mere  matter  of  muscular  control.  The  de- 
tails of  these  experiments  may  be  found  in  the  New  York 
Medical  Journal,  May  8,  1915. 

Errors  of  refraction  are  responsible  for 
most  cases  of  defective  vision  and  often 
lead  to  actual  disease  of  the  eye.  These 
errors  fall  into  four  classes:  Myopia,  Hyper- 
metropia,  Astigmatism  and  Presbyopia. 

In  myopia,  commonly  called  short,  or  near- 
sight, rays  of  light  coming  from  a distance  fall  in 
front  of  the  retina. 

In  hypermetropia  they  are  focused  behind  the 
retina.  This  condition  is  usually  called  long,  or 
far-sight;  but  in  reality  the  sight  is  defective  both 
for  near  and  for  distant  vision. 

In  astigmatism  the  rays  are  not  brought  to  a 
focus  at  all  because  the  curvature  of  the  refract- 
ing surfaces  is  greater  along  certain  meridians 
than  along  others.  There  are  six  different  kinds 


12 


ERRORS  OF  REFRACTION 


of  astigmatism,  which  is  usually  combined  with 
other  errors  of  refraction.  When  one  meridian  is 
correct  and  the  other  myopic  or  hypermetropic, 
the  condition  is  called  simple  astigmatism,  while 
a combination  of  myopia  and  hypermetropia  is 
called  mixed  astigmatism. 

Presbyopia  is  a form  of  hypermetropia  in 
which  only  the  vision  for  near  distances  is  de- 
fective. It  is  supposed  to  be  peculiar  to  old  age, 
but  may  appear  at  any  age,  and  has  even  been 
known  to  occur  in  children.  Furthermore,  old 
people  occasionally  regain  normal  vision  after 
having  been  presbyopic  for  years. 

It  is  stated  in  all  the  text  books  on  ophthal- 
mology that  these  conditions  are  incurable.  The 
first  three  are  attributed  to  permanent  deforma- 
tions of  the  eyeball,  and  it  is  said  that  the  eye 
endeavors  to  correct  the  resulting  errors  of  re- 
fraction by  altering  the  shape  of  the  lens, 
through  the  agencj^  of  the  ciliary  muscle.  It  is  to 
relieve  this  supposed  strain,  as  well  as  to  correct 
actual  failure  of  vision,  that  glasses  are  pre- 
scribed. Presbyopia  is  attributed  to  the  harden- 
ing of  the  lens,  and  consequent  inability  to  alter 
its  curvature. 

Abundant  evidence  can  be  adduced  to  show 
that  these  theories  are  erroneous;  that  the  lens 
and  the  ciliary  muscle  have  nothing  whatever  to 
do  with  accommodation;  and  that  errors  of  re- 


13 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


fraction  are  due  to  the  abnormal  action  of  the 
outside  muscles  of  the  eye,  which  squeeze  it  out 
of  shape  and  make  it,  for  the  time  being,  either 
too  long  or  too  short.  Myopic  refraction  is  pro- 
duced by  excessive  contraction  of  the  oblique 
muscles,  which  form  an  almost  complete  belt 
around  the  eye  and  lengthen  it  when  they  con- 
tract, as  a rubber  ball  might  be  lengthened  if 
one  squeezed  it  in  the  middle.  Hypermetropic 
refraction  is  produced  by  the  excessive  contrac- 
tion of  a set  of  muscles  known  as  the  recti,  or 
straight  muscles,  while  astigmatism  is  produced 
by  a modification  of  the  action  of  these  various 
muscles.  This  abnormal  action  of  the  muscles 
is  the  result,  in  every  case,  of  a strain  or  effort 
to  see. 

The  truth  of  these  statements  has  been  demon- 
strated by  long  observation  of  the  human  eye 
and  many  experiments  on  the  eyes  of  lower  ani- 
mals. When  the  eyeball,  or  certain  nerves,  are 
electrically  stimulated,  errors  of  refraction  are 
produced,  whereas  such  conditions  can  not  be  pro- 
duced after  the  muscles  concerned  are  prevented 
from  contracting  by  some  surgical  operation.  In 
other  words,  by  manipulation  of  these  muscles 
any  error  of  refraction  can  be  produced  without 
reference  to  the  lens  at  all.  Furthermore,  after 
the  lens  has  been  removed  altogether,  errors  of 
refraction  can  be  produced,  in. precisely  the  same 


14 


ERRORS  OF  REFRACTION 


way  as  before,  by  suitable  electrical  stimulation 
and  surgical  operations  upon  the  outside  muscles. 
In  such  cases,  the  lens  and  ciliary  muscle  can  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  results. 


16 


‘mmr 

OF  THE 

IlfiilVFP'iiTV  or  m mhhi 


STRENGTHENING 
THE  EYES 

— J/ejir  Coujrse 
Scienti^c  £^^07h2/aii2^ 


By 

BERNAIiR  MA.CFADDEN 


"Publijhmd  by 

Physical  Culture  Publishing  Company 

/>feto  yorK. 


PART  VIII 


Errors  of  Refraction  : Their  Cure 

IN  the  last  chapter  it  was  shown  that  errors  of 
refraction  are  purely  functional  troubles, 
produced  at  the  moment  of  vision  by  con- 
scious or  unconscious  muscular  strain.  The  cure 
must  obviously  consist,  therefore,  not  in  wearing 
glasses,  but  in  learning  to  look  at  things  without 
effort. 

In  order  to  do  this  it  is  necessary  to  learn  how 
to  use  the  eyes  correctly.  This  means  seeing  best 
with  the  center  of  sight  of  the  retina,  the  yellow 
spot  that  we  have  previously  alluded  to,  every- 
thing being  less  distinctly  seen  according  to  its 
distance  from  this  point.  This  is  called  Central 
Fixation,  and  is  the  basis  of  the  treatment  of 
errors  of  refraction  without  glasses.  When  the 
eye  looks  at  objects  with  central  fixation  it  is  at 
rest  and  maximum  vision  is  attained. 

Central  fixation  is  opposed  to  Eccentric  Fixa- 
tion, in  which  the  eye  partially  or  completely  sup- 
presses the  vision  of  the  center  of  the  retina  and 
sees  best  with  other  parts.  When  a person  with 
normal  eyes  looks  at  letters,  or  words,  with  eccen- 
tric fixation,  not  only  the  objects  regarded,  but 


2 


ERRORS  OF  REFRACTION 


. 


In  the  upper  picture  the  sight  is  centered  upon  one  spot, 
the  upper  left=hand  corner  of  the  letter  R,  which  is  seen 
more  clearly  and  appears  to  be  blacker  than  the  rest  of  the 
field  of  vision.  This  is  central  fixation.  In  the  lower  picture 
the  subject  is  endeavoring  to  see  every  part  of  her  field  of 
vision  equally  well  at  the  same  time.  This  is  eccentric 
fixation  and  always  accompanies  eye  strain. 


those  in  other  parts  of  the  field  of  vision  appear  less 
distinct  than  when  regarded  with  central  fixation. 
Black  letters  appear  less  black,  white  letters  upon 
a black  ground  appear  less  white,  and  colored  let- 
ters of  a lighter  shade  than  they  normally  would. 
The  letters  are  not  clear,  having  a shadowy  mar- 
gin. Their  size  is  altered,  and  they  appear  larger 
or  smaller  than  with  normal  vision.  Their  shape 
is  also  distorted,  and  a square  letter  may  seem  to 
be  round.  Illusions  of  sight  may  occur  and  mul- 
tiple vision  is  common.  Pain,  fatigue  or  discom- 

3 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


fort  of  some  kind  is  usually  felt  and  headaches 
are  frequently  produced. 

An  important  symptom  is  twitching  of  the 
muscles  of  the  eyelids,  or  eyeballs.  This  is  usu- 
ally unconscious,  but  may  be  felt  if  the  patient 
lightly  touches  the  closed  eyelid  of  one  eye  while 
the  other  is  looking  at  a letter  by  eccentric  fixa- 
tion. The  appearance  of  the  eye  is  usually  ex- 
pressive of  effort,  and  a greater  or  less  degree 
of  squint  is  always  present.  Even  redness  of 
the  margins  of  the  lids  and  dark  circles  under  the 
eyes  may  be  produced  by  eccentric  fixation. 

When  the  eyes  look  at  objects  without  strain 
they  always  do  so  with  central  fixation.  The 
first  thing  for  the  patient  to  do,  therefore,  is  to 
learn  to  relax  the  eyes.  This  can  be  done  by 
seeing  and  remembering  black.  When  the  eyes 
are  in  a state  of  strain  they  will  see  bright  lights 
and  colors  even  when  closed,  and  covered  with 
the  palms  of  the  hands  to  exclude  the  light;  but 
by  looking  at  a black  object  before  closing  the 
eyes,  and  then  keeping  it  in  mind,  they  will  grad- 
ually become  able  to  see  plain,  unrelieved  black- 
ness. When  they  are  opened  it  will  be  found  that 
a noticeable,  if  temporary,  improvement  in  vision 
has  taken  place.  This  should  be  done  for  a few 
minutes,  a half  hour  or  longer,  about  six  times  a 
day  or  more  frequently.  It  may,  in  fact,  be  done 
as  frequently  and  for  as  long  a time,  as  cir- 


4 


ERRORS  OF  REFRACTION 


cumstances  and  inclination  permit.  The  more,  the 
better.  Between  times  the  color  should  be  kept 
constantly  in  mind.  A black  period  is  the  object 
most  easily  remembered. 

This  practice  alone  is  often  sufficient  to  restore 
and  maintain  the  normal  habit  of  central  fixation, 
but  usually  it  is  necessary  to  consciously  practice 
seeing  those  parts  of  one’s  field  of  vision  not  di- 
rectly regarded  worse  than  the  part  fixed.  The 
Snellen  test  card  is  best  for  this  purpose,  and  the 
patient  should  select  for  practice  the  smallest 
letter  he  can  see  at  a distance  of  ten  feet  or  more. 
At  first  the  letter  may  be  seen  by  central  fixation 
. only  occasionally.  Later  it  will  be  seen  more  fre- 
quently and  then  continuously.  A distinct  feeling 
of  relief  will  usually  be  experienced  whenever 
central  fixation  is  attained. 

To  secure  central  fixation  at  a near  point, 
which  is  usually  more  difficult  than  in  the  case  ol 
distant  vision,  a dot  of  about  the  size  of  a pica- 
type  period  on  a blank  card  is  used.  The  patient 
is  directed  to  look  at  it  at  about  twelve  inches 
and  note  its  clearness.  It  is  then  held  nearer 
and  farther  off  until  the  point  is  found  at  which 
it  appears  clearest  to  both  eyes  and  to  each  eye 
separately.  By  practicing  in  this  way  the  pa- 
tient becomes  able  to  see  the  point  both  nearer 
and  farther  than  at  the  beginning.  He  is  then 
given  diamond  type  to  read,  directed  to  look  at  a 


5 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


period  at  the  distance  at  which  he  can  see  it  best, 
and  told  that  when  he  sees  it  by  central  fixation 
it  will  appear  blacker  than  any  part  of  the  adja- 
cent letters.  The  distance  may  be  lessened  to 
three  inches  and  increased  to  twenty  or  more  by 
daily  practice.  By  looking  alternately  at  the  dia- 
mond type  at  reading  distance,  and  the  Snellen 
test  card  at  twenty  feet,  the  vision  for  both  near 
and  far  distances  is  improved. 

This  training  is  usually  successful  in  curing 
myopia,  hypermetropia,  and  astigmatism  and 
presbyopia.  Patients  with  presbyopia,  combined 
with  other  errors  of  refraction,  and  even  incipient 


In  the  picture  at  the  left  the  subject  is  looking  at  a Snellen 
test  card  with  normal  vision.  At  the  right  she  is  trying  to 
see  a picture  at  twenty  feet,  and  the  strain  has  produced 
compound  myopic  astigmatism. 


6 


ERRORS  OF  REFRACTION 


cataract,  have  been  cured  at  sixty,  seventy  and 
even  eighty  years  of  age.  Persons  with  high  de- 
grees of  myopia  have  been  eured  by  praeticing 
only  a few  of  the  directions  presented  here. 
It  is  not  neeessary  to  understand  anything  about 
the  anatomy  and  physiology  of  the  eye — however 
interesting  and  useful  it  may  be  to  know  these 
things — to  be  cured  of  errors  of  refraction.  All 
that  is  necessary  is  to  follow  the  simple  directions 
given,  literally  and  persistently,  every  day  for  a 
sufficient  length  of  time. 

. If  the  methods  recommended  for  the  preven- 
tion of  myopia  in  sehools  later  were  prac- 
ticed by  people  generally,  whether  they  are 
old  or  young,  or  whether  their  eyes  are  good,  bad 
or  indifferent,  that  one  thing  alone  would  be  of 
inestimable  benefit.  If  any  child  under  twelve 
faithfully  reads  the  small  letters  of  the  Snellen 
test  card  or  any  small  letter,  or  letters,  at  a dis- 
tanee  of  ten  feet  or  more,  with  each  eye  separately 
every  day,  he  will  be  cured  of  errors  of  refraction 
in  from  three  months  to  two  years,  without  any 
supervision  or  any  other  treatment.  Adults  of 
all  ages  will  also  be  cured,  if  they  are  sufficiently 
persistent.  By  such  practice  both  children  and 
adults  will  usually  discover  for  themselves  the 
facts  about  central  fixation,  strain  and  other 
fundamental  truths  about  the  eyes.  But  persons 
who  have  worn  glasses  for  a year  or  longer  can 


7 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


Seeing  without  strain,  the  all=important  factor  in  preserv* 
ing  normal  and  healthy  sight.  This  is  possible  only 
through  central  fixation. 


not  expect  very  much  or  any  benefit  so  long  as 
they  wear  their  glasses. 

The  time  required  for  a cure  varies  greatly  in 
different  cases.  Some  persons  are  relieved  imme- 
diately. In  other  cases  weeks  and  months  of 
training  are  required.  The  practice  should  always 
be  continued  for  a few  minutes  daily  to  avoid 
relapses.  Even  the  normal  eye  requires  practice 
in  normal  vision  to  avoid  falling  into  errors  of 
refraction. 


s 


PART  IX 


Amblyopia 


Most  physicians  at  the  present  time  believe  that  amblyopia 
is  incurable,  but  it  has  been  proved  that  it  can  be  successfully 
treated  by  means  of  new  methods  of  eye  training.  During 
the  last  ten  years  numerous  patients,  ranging  in  age  from  six 
to  seventy-five  years,  have  secured  normal  vision  by  this  means. 
The  facts  were  first  reported  in  La  Clinique  Opthalmologique, 
December,  1912. 

Amblyopia  is  a term  applied  to  a con- 
dition of  the  eyesight  in  which  there  is  a 
lowering  of  visual  power  which  can  not  be 
relieved  by  glasses  and  is  not  dependent  on  any 
visible  changes  in  the  organ  of  vision.  It  has 
been  facetiously  defined  as  a condition  in  which 
neither  the  patient  nor  the  doctor  can  see.  The 
patient  suffers  from  poor  vision,  while  the  doctor 
can  find  nothing  wrong  with  his  eyes.  The  dis- 
ease usually  affects  only  one  eye,  and  is  so  often 
associated  with  squint  that  it  has  been  erroneously 
supposed  to  be  both  the  cause  and  the  effect  of 
that  condition. 

The  text  books  enumerate  many  different  types 
of  amblyopia.  The  one  known  as  amblyopia  ex- 
anopsia was  so  named  because  it  was  supposed  to 
result  from  a suppression  of  the  sight  of  the  af- 


9 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


fected  eye  during  early  youth,  owing  to  some  de- 
fect, such  as  a squint  or  error  of  refraction.  Such 
defects  were  supposed  to  prevent  the  retina  from 
attaining  the  functional  capacity  of  normal  eyes, 
and  the  literature  of  the  subject  is  full  of  the 
impossibility  of  cure.  “The  function  of  the  ret- 
ina never  again  becomes  perfectly  normal,”  says 
Fuchs,  “even  when  the  cause  of  the  trouble  has 
been  removed.” 

There  are,  nevertheless,  many  cases  of  spon- 
taneous cures  on  record,  these  usually  occurring 
when  the  perfect  eye  has  been  lost  by  accident. 
In  such  cases  the  amblyopic  eye  in  the  course  of 
time  frequently  becomes  normal. 

The  ailment  is  simply  the  result  of  eccentric 
fixation,  and  it  is  gratifying  to  know  that  the 
authorities  are  wrong  in  supposing  that  it  can  not 
be  cured.  All  cases  have  been  relieved  by  eye 
training,  and  complete  cures  have  been  effected 
when  the  exercises  were  faithfully  practiced.  The 
progress  has  sometimes  been  very  rapid,  the  sight 
occasionally  improving  in  a few  minutes  from 
one-fiftieth  of  the  normal  to  one-tenth. 

In  order  that  patients  may  understand  the  con- 
dition, they  are  taught  how  to  produce  amblyopia 
in  the  better  eye  and  how  to  increase  it  in  the 
amblyopic  eye  by  improper  efforts  to  see.  After 
they  have  learned  to  lower  their  vision  voluntarily 
they  become  better  able  to  improve  it.  The  fol- 


io 


AMBLYOPIA 


lowing  case  illustrates  the  method.  A girl  of 
fifteen  had  had  amblyopia  and  squint  since  child- 
hood. The  vision  of  the  right  eye  w^as  1/40,  while 
that  of  the  left  was  2/3.  Glasses  did  not  improve 
either  eye.  The  patient  was  seated  twenty  feet 
from  a Snellen  test  card  and  the  right  or  poorer 
eye  was  covered  with  an  opaque  screen.  She  was 
then  directed  to  look  with  her  better  eye  at  the 
large  letter  on  the  card  and  to  note  its  clearness. 
Next  she  was  told  to  look  at  a point  three  feet 
to  one  side  of  the  card,  and  her  attention  was 
called  to  the  fact  that  then  she  did  not  see  the 
large  letter  so  well.  The  point  of  fixation  was 
brought  closer  and  closer  to  the  letter  until  she 
appreciated  the  fact  that  her  vision  was  lowered 
when  she  looked  only  a few  inches  to  one  side  of 
it.  When  she  looked  at  a small  letter  she  readily 
recognized  that  an  eccentric  fixation  of  less  than 
an  inch  lowered  the  vision. 

After  she  had  learned  to  increase  the  amblyo- 
pia of  the  better  eye  this  eye  was  covered,  while 
she  was  taught  how  to  lower  the  vision  of  the 
other  or  poorer  eye  by  increasing  its  eccentric 
fixation.  This  was  accomplished  in  a few  min- 
utes. She  was  told  that  the  cause  of  her  defective 
sight  was  her  habit  of  looking  at  objects  with  a 
part  of  the  retina  to  one  side  of  the  true  center  of 
sight.  She  was  advised  to  see  by  looking  straight 
at  the  Snellen  card.  In  less  than  half  an  hour 


11 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


the  vision  of  the  left  eye  became  normal,  while 
the  right  improved  from  1 /40  to  1 /lO.  The  cure 
was  complete  in  two  weeks. 

Unconscious  of  the  fact  that  they  were  looking 
at  objects  with  their  eyes  turned  to  one  side,  many 
amblyopic  patients  had  difficulty  in  realizing  that 
this  was  the  case.  When  they  did  come  to  under- 
stand it,  it  helped  them  to  secure  central  fixation, 
and  their  sight  immediately  improved. 


12 


PART  X 


Color  Blindness 

Both  because  of  its  scientific  interest  and 
its  practical  bearings,  this  curious  defect 
of  the  eyes  occupies  a large  place  in  oph- 
thalmological  literature.  Although  it  must  have 
existed  for  centuries,  the  first  case  on  record  was 
discovered  in  the  practice  of  a Dr.  Tuberville  in 
1684.  Nearly  a hundred  years  later  an  English 
chemist  by  the  name  of  Dalton,  who  was  color- 
blind himself,  and  could  see  no  difference  between 
the  color  of  a laurel  leaf  and  that  of  a stick  of 
red  sealing  wax,  published  the  first  accurate 
description  of  the  condition.  For  this  reason  con- 
tinental scientists  gave  it  the  name  of  Daltonism. 

Although  it  would  seem  to  be  obvious  that  a 
condition  of  color  blindness  must  be  very  danger- 
ous, when  it  exists  in  persons  responsible  for  the 
lives  of  others  on  railroads  and  steamers,  it  was 
not  until  the  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
after  much  agitation  by  the  medical  profession, 
that  its  practical  bearings  were  recognized. 
Owing  to  the  remarkable  tendency  of  color-blind- 
ness to  conceal  itself  both  from  the  subject  and 
his  associates,  managers  of  transportation  com- 


13 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


panics  distrusted  the  scientists  and  could  not  be 
brought  to  believe  that  such  a defect  could  exist 
in  persons  who  had  been  in  their  employ  for  years 
without  its  being  discovered. 

Sweden  was  the  first  country  to  pass  a law  for- 
bidding the  employment  of  any  man  upon  a rail- 
road until  his  color  vision  had  been  tested.  This 
action  was  taken  as  the  result  of  the  investiga- 
tions of  Prof.  Holmgren  of  the  University  of 
Upsala,  who  discovered  thirteen  color-blind  men 
among  266  railroad  employees,  and  his  book  on 
“Color  Blindness  in  Its  Relations  to  Railroads 
and  the  Marine,”  had  the  effect  of  concentrating 
the  attention  of  the  world  upon  the  subject. 
Today  most  shipping  and  railway  companies  re- 
quire employees  whose  duties  include  the  recog- 
nition of  variously  colored  lights  and  signals  to 
submit  to  a special  examination  for  color 
blindness. 

There  are  various  degrees  of  color  blindness. 
The  condition  in  which  no  color  can  be  recog- 
nized, and  the  world  looks  like  a steel  engraving, 
is  rare,  and  its  existence  is  denied  by  some.  In 
cases  where  this  total  lack  of  color  perception  has 
been  recorded,  there  has  also  been  a considerable 
reduction  of  visual  acuity  in  other  respects.  Usu- 
ally only  one  color  is  lost  by  the  subject  in  this 
odd  manner,  but  sometimes  more  than  one.  Thus 
the  subject  may  be  color-blind  for  red,  for  blue, 


14 


COLOR  BLINDNESS 


for  green,  etc.,  as  the  case  may  be.  The  most 
common  form  is  that  in  which  red  is  deficient. 

Many  theories  have  been  advanced  to  account 
for  color  blindness,  and  it  is  generally  supposed 
to  be  incurable,  but  as  a matter  of  fact  it  has 
been  found  that  it  always  disappears  when  the 
eyes  have  acquired  the  normal  habit  of  central 
fixation. 


15 


IJb’KARy 
OF  THt 


THE  EYES 

Coui'se  Jiz^ 
Scienti^'c  J^^eTrai/iin^ 


JI2  23  Zqssoizs 


BERNARR  MACFADDEN 


Published  by 

Physical  Culture  Publishing  Company 

J^ttu  yerK 


PART  XI 


Strabismus:  Squint 


In  the  following  is  presented  a cure,  the  efficacy  of  which 
has  been  tested  in  numerous  cases,  for  one  of  the  most  dis- 
tressing and  disfiguring  of  eye  complaints.  Only  approxi- 
mately curable  by  any  of  the  means  heretofore  used,  it  has 
been  found  that  squint  always  yields  to  eye  training  when 
persistently  and  intelligently  used. 

SQUINT,  or  strabismus,  as  it  is  called  scien- 
tifically, is  one  of  the  vexed  problems  of 
ophthalmology.  Many  curious  suggestions, 
both  popular  and  scientific,  have  been  made  as  to 
its  cause.  None  of  these  theories  come  anywhere 
near  to  agreement,  and  while  some  seem  to  fit 
some  cases,  they  leave  many  others  unexplained. 

The  first  definitely  scientific  theory  advanced 
to  account  for  squint  was  that  it  was  due  to  an 
abnormality  of  the  muscles  which  turn  the  eyeball 
in  the  socket.  This  theory  seemed  so  plausible 
that  it  was  almost  universally  accepted  at  one 
time,  and  an  era  of  operations  ensued,  with  many 
disastrous  results. 

Then  Donders  advanced  his  accommodation 
theory,  which  immediately  came  into  vogue.  This 
theory  is  based  on  the  fact  that  when  the  eyes 
look  at  a near  object  there  is  not  only  a change  of 


2 


f 


SQUINT 


focus,  but 
the  visual 
axes,  which 
are  parallel 
when  the 
object  of 
vision  is  a 
distant  one, 
are  turned 
slightly 
inward. 
These  two 
acts,  accom- 
m o d a t i on 
and  conver- 
gence, be- 
ing always  performed  together,  have  become  as- 
sociated by  hereditary  habit  so  that  it  is  difficult 
to  converge  without  accommodation.  Donders 
concluded,  therefore,  that  an  abnormal  effort  of 
accommodation  resulted  in  abnormal  conver- 
gence. 

According  to  another  theory,  the  essential  or 
underlying  cause  is  a congenital  defect  in  the 
“fusion  faculty,”  or  the  power  of  coordinating  the 
two  visual  images,  resulting  in  the  development 
of  a squint  on  the  slightest  provocation. 

The  truth  is  that  squint  is  a purely  functional 
defect.  Some  persons  can  produce  it  at  will,  and 


3 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


it  is  frequently  produced  in  persons  with  normal 
eyes,  both  children  and  adults,  when  they  try 
unsuccessfully  to  read  the  Snellen  test  card. 
When  the  eyes  are  not  properly  used,  the  optic 
axes  are  never  parallel,  although  the  defect  is  not 
usually  sufficient  to  attract  attention. 

Squint  is  cured  by  the  same  methods  recom- 
mended for  errors  of  refraction,  and  is  not  cur- 
able by  any  other  means.  Operations  are  both 
dangerous  and  uncertain.  At  the  best  they  are 
never 
more  than 
approxi- 
m a t e 1 y 
successful, 
and  when 
they  fail 
they  often 
produce  a 
c o n d ition 
much 
worse  than 
the  one 
they 
sought  to 

1 The  same  patient  cured  by  rational 

remeay.  methods  of  eye  training. 


4 


PART  XII 


Saving  the  Sight  of  the  Children 

In  the  following  pages  the  first  successful  attempt  to  cure 
defective  vision  and  prevent  myopia  in  schools  is  described. 
The  details  may  be  found  in  the  New  York  Medical  Journal, 
July  29,  1911,  and  August  30,  1913,  and  are  worthy  of  more 
attention  than  they  have  received.  The  prevention  of  myopia 
among  school  children  is  of  vital  and  far-reaching  importance. 
Eye  defects,  with  the  nervousness,  headaches  and  irritability 
for  which  they  are  responsible,  not  only  prevent  children  from 
availing  themselves  of  the  educational  opportunities  offered  to 
them  by  the  state,  but  are  often  a serious  handicap  as  well  as 
a discomfort  and  an  expense  in  after  life.  If  there  is  any  way 
of  preventing  such  tragedies  it  ought  to  be  adopted  without  a 
moment’s  delay.  Meantime  parents  can  protect  their  children 
by  using  the  methods  advocated  at  home.  Since  it  is  difficult 
to  prove  a negative  proposition,  it  cannot,  of  course,  be  abso- 
lutely proven  that  these  methods  actually  prevented  myopia, 
but  since  all  cases  of  defective  eyesight  were  improved  by  them 
there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  they  also  prevented  this 
condition. 

ONE  of  the  most  serious  problems  which 
civilization  has  been  called  upon  to  solve 
is  that  of  saving  the  sight  of  children. 
Ever  since  the  introduction  of  popular  education 
it  has  been  recognized  that  the  system  was  disas- 
trous to  the  eyesight  of  the  rising  generation. 
Voluminous  statistics,  collected  both  in  this  coun- 
try and  in  Europe,  show  that  whereas  most  chil- 
dren on  entering  school  have  perfect  sight,  the 


5 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


percentage  of  eye  defects  steadily  increases  dur- 
ing the  educational  process,  reaching  its  climax 
in  the  higher  institutions  of  learning. 

In  Europe,  where  the  military  system  has  made 
the  matter  one  of  great  practical  importance  to 
the  State,  much  effort  has  been  made  to  find  a 
remedy  for  the  evil,  and  millions  of  dollars  have 
been  spent  in  carrying  out  the  suggestions  of  the 
eye  specialists.  The  lighting  of  the  schools,  the 
furniture,  the  print  in  the  school  books,  the  posi- 
tion assumed  by  the  pupils  at  work,  were  all  regu- 
lated in  accordance  with  expert  opinion.  In 
some  cases  the  suggested  reforms  were  carried  out 
with  such  thoroughness  that  “face-rests”  were  at- 
tached to  the  desks  to  prevent  the  children  from 
getting  their  eyes  too  near  their  books. 

The  injurious  effects  of  the  educational  process 
were  not,  however,  appreciably  arrested.  Cohn 
reports,  indeed,  an  increase  both  in  the  percent- 
age and  degree  of  myopia  in  those  schools  in 
which  he  had  especially  exerted  himself  to  secure 
reforms,  while  Just  found  that  the  excellent  hy- 
gienic arrangements  in  the  high  school  of  Zittau, 
where  he  examined  the  eyes  of  1,229  of  the  pupils, 
had  not  in  any  degree  lessened  the  percentage  of 
myopia. 

All  these  efforts  to  prevent  myopia  failed  be- 
cause they  were  based  on  a wrong  conception  of 
the  cause  of  the  condition.  It  was  naturally  sup- 


6 


SAVING  THE  SIGHT 


A case  of  divergent  vertical  squint  ultimately  cured  by 
educational  methods.  In  the  picture  at  the  left  the  right 
eye  turns  out  and  up,  while  the  left  eye  looks  straight.  At 
the  right  the  patient  has  learned  to  look  straight  with  the 
right  eye,  while  the  left  turns  down  and  out. 

posed  that  the  cause  of  the  failure  of  the  eye  to 
see  distant  objects  was  its  too  constant  use  for 
near  work.  The  retinoscope  has  demonstrated 
that  this  assumption  is  erroneous,  and  that  the 
true  cause  of  myopia  is  a strain  to  see  distant  ob- 
jects. When  trying  to  see  unfamiliar  writing, 
or  figures  on  the  blackboard,  distant  maps,  dia- 
grams or  pictures,  it  has  been  found  that  all  chil- 
dren with  normal  eyes  strain  and  become  tempo- 
rarily myopic.  When  regarding  familiar  distant 
objects  it  is  quite  otherwise.  Daily  exercise  in 
the  distant  vision  of  familiar  objects,  therefore, 
suggests  itself  as  the  best  method  of  preventing 
the  tendency  to  strain  in  viewing  unfamiliar  dis- 


7 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


tant  objects  and  thus  of  preventing  permanent 
myopia.  This  method  has  been  tried  in  many  pub- 
lic schools  during  the  last  ten  years  and  has  been 
uniformly  successful,  not  only  in  preventing 
myopia,  but  in  curing  it  where  it  already  existed. 

The  Snellen  test  card  was  found  to  be  the  best 
distant  object  for  exercises  in  distant  vision. 
When  memorized  it  becomes  a familiar  distant 
object.  Its  daily  use  for  half  a minute  or  longer 
both  prevented  and  cured  myopia,  and  also  im- 
proved the  vision  for  near  objects,  many  pupils 
stating  that  they  were  able,  after  its  introduction 

into  the  classroom,  to 
study  with  less  or  no 
discomfort.  The  test 
card  was  placed  per- 
manently where  all  the 
pupils  could  see  it 
from  their  seats,  and 
the  children  were  in- 
structed by  the  teach- 
ers to  read  it  daily 
with  each  eye  sepa- 
rately, the  other  being 
covered  with  the  palm 
of  the  hand  in  such  a 
way  as  to  avoid  pres- 
sure on  the  eyeball. 
Records  of  vision 


The  same  patient  after  a com=* 
plete  cure  had  been  effected. 
All  four  pictures  were  taken 
within  fifteen  minutes  of  each 
other,  the  patient  having 
learned  to  reproduce  the 
conditions  represented  volun- 
tarily 


8 


SAVING  THE  SIGHT 


were  made  either  with  the  same  card  or  with  an 
unfamiliar  one. 

This  method  of  preventing  myopia  was  used 
for  eight  years  continuously  in  the  public  schools 
of  Grand  Forks,  North  Dakota,  and  reduced  the 
percentage  of  myopia  from  six  to  one  per  cent. 

Later  it  was  introduced  into  a number  of  pub- 
lic schools  in  New  York  with  a total  attendance 
of  ten  thousand 


children.  The  cards 
were  received  with 
considerable  scep- 
ticism, the  teachers 
being  unable  to  be- 
lieve that  such  a 
simple  method,  and 
one  so  entirely  at 
variance  with  previ- 
ous teachings  on  the 
subject,  could  pro- 
duce results.  Some 
of  the  teachers  neg- 
lected to  use  them, 
but  others,  in  spite 
of  their  miscellane- 
ous and  often  trying 
duties,  gave  the 
matter  serious  at- 
tention, and  were 


A part  of  the  treatment.  The  pa=. 
tient  has  learned  to  turn  both 
eyes  in  by  looking  at  a pencil 
held  over  the  bridge  of  the  nose. 
Later  she  became  able  to  turn 
them  in  without  the  pencil,  or 
to  turn  either  eye  in  while  the 
other  remained  straight. 


9 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


able  to  present  complete  reports  covering  five 
thousand  children.  Of  this  number  three  thou- 
sand had  defective  eyesight  and  the  reports 
showed  that  more  than  a third  of  this  number 
gained  perfect  vision  in  both  eyes  after  the  test 
cards  were  introduced. 

In  one  case  in  which  there  had  been  twenty- 
seven  defectives  in  a class,  twenty-five  were  re- 
ported cured  and  two  much  improved,  while  one 
incorrigible  and  one  truant  had  become  good  stu- 
dents because,  after  they  had  obtained  normal 
vision,  they  were  able  to  study  without  pain  or 
discomfort. 

The  Snellen  test  card,  illustrated  elsewhere, 
was  devised  for  the  purpose  of  testing  the  sight 
by  means  of  differently  sized  letters  and  figures, 
but  has  been  found  equally  valuable  for  eye  train- 
ing. Each  line  is  designated  by  a number  indi- 
cating the  distance  in  feet  at  which  it  should  be 
read  by  the  normal  eye.  The  records  of  vision 
are  written  in  the  form  of  a fraction,  the  upper 
line  indicating  the  distance  in  feet  of  the  reader 
from  the  card,  and  the  lower  the  line  read.  When 
the  numerator  and  denominator  are  equal,  the 
sight  is  normal.  The  school  records  were  made 
as  follows,  the  vision  of  each  eye  being  recorded 
separately : 

February,  1913  April,  1913  June,  1913 

R.  L.  R.  L.  R.  L. 

John  D 20/100  20/50  20/50  20/40  20/20  20/20 

Sanford  G.... 20/50  27/70  20/30  20/40  20/15  20/20 


10 


SAVING  THE  SIGHT 


That  the  improvement  shown  by  the  records 
was  due  to  the  use  of  the  cards  was  demonstrated 
not  only  by  the  fact  that  when  the  cards  were 
removed  relapses  occurred,  but  also  by  compara- 
tive tests  made  with  and  without  the  cards.  In 
one  case  six  pupils  with  defective  sight  were  ex- 
amined daily  for  one  week  without  the  use  of  the 
test  card.  No  improvement  took  place.  The 
same  six  pupils  were  then  given  daily  exercises 
in  distant  vision  with  the  test  card.  At  the  end 
of  that  time  they  had  all  improved  and  five  were 
cured.  In  the  case  of  another  lot  of  six  defectives 
in  the  same  school  the  results  were  similar.  No 
improvement  was  noted  during  the  week  that  the 
card  was  not  used,  but  after  a week  of  exercises 
in  distant  vision  all  had  shown  marked  improve- 
ment, while  at  the  end  of  a month  all  were  cured. 

In  a considerable  proportion  of  cases  the  chil- 
dren learned  in  a few  minutes  how  to  look  at 
things  without  effort  and  were  thus  cured  of  their 
myopia.  Many  of  the  teachers  were  also  cured  of 
eye  troubles  and  enabled  to  discard  their  glasses. 


11 


PART  XIII 


Injuries  to  the  Eye 

The  eye  is  one  of  the  most  delicate  portions 
of  the  human  body;  and  although  Nature 
has  endeavored  to  protect  it  from  injury 
by  embedding  it  deep  within  the  skull,  surround- 
ing it,  so  far  as  possible,  with  a circular  orbit  of 
hone,  and  veiling  it  with  lids  that  close  at  the 
slightest  hint  of  danger,  it  can  not  always  escape 
injury.  This  lesson  will  treat  of  the  most  com- 
mon of  the  accidents  to  which  it  is  liable,  and  of 
the  speediest  and  most  efficient  measures  that  can 
be  adopted  in  such  cases. 

Foreign  Bodies  in  the  Eye.  The  most  com- 
mon form  of  injury  from  which  the  eyes  suffer, 
probably,  is  that  resulting  from  the  intrusion  into 
it  of  small  particles  of  dust,  cinders,  etc.  These 
cause  extreme  discomfort,  if  not  actual  pain,  ac- 
companied by  a rush  of  tears.  This  watering  of 
the  eye  is  really  an  effort  on  the  part  of  nature 
to  expel  the  offending  substance,  the  water  tend- 
ing to  wash  the  particle  from  the  eyeball,  and 
into  the  lachrymal  canals,  which  carry  it  into  the 
nose.  If  the  particle  lodges  in  the  corner  of  the 
eye,  it  can  be  removed  by  means  of  the  point  of  a 


12 


INJURIES  TO  THE  EYE 


handkerchief.  Most  foreign  substances  can  read- 
ily be  removed  in  this  manner — provided  the  eye 
be  not  rubbed.  If  you  rub  the  eye,  it  tends  to 
embed  the  grit,  or  whatever  it  may  be,  more 
deeply  in  the  eyeball,  and  if  the  substance  has 
sharp  points,  it  is  liable  to  become  so  deeply  em- 
bedded that  it  becomes  difficult  to  remove.  If 
the  temptation  to  do  this,  when  a foreign  body 
finds  its  way  into  the  eye  be  resisted,  the  sub- 
stance can  readily  be  removed  in  practically  every 
case. 

Smooth  bodies  rarely  cause  much  trouble,  but 
bodies  having  rough  cutting  edges  may  often 
lodge  in  the  conjunctiva  and  cause  intense  pain.  ' 
The  right  method  of  extraction  is  to  evert  the  eye- 
lid, when  it  will  be  found  easy  in  the  majority  of 
cases  to  remove  the  cinder,  or  whatever  it  may 
be,  by  means  of  a small  paint  brush  or  the  corner 
of  a handkerchief.  Direct  the  patient  to  look 
downwards,  if  the  body  has  lodged  on  the  upper 
eyelid,  then  turn  the  eyelid  back  on  the  finger, 
or  over  a pencil  or  match.  If  the  body  is  seen 
to  be  near  the  edge  of  the  upper  lid,  it  can  often 
be  removed  by  lifting  the  lid  up  by  means  of 
the  eyelashes,  and  bringing  it  over  the  lashes  of 
the  lower  lid.  These  then  act  as  a sort  of  broom, 
and  sweep  out  the  foreign  body.  As  in  all  such 
cases,  the  free  fiow  of  tears  is  helpful. 

When  a foreign  body  has  lodged  in  the  firmer 


13 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


tissue  of  the  cornea,  its  extraction  is  not  so  sim- 
ple a matter,  and  rubbing  only  presses  it  in  more 
firmly.  In  such  cases,  the  particle  is  often  driven 
in  with  considerable  force,  and  it  is  usually  so 
small  that  a magnifying  glass  must  be  employed 
to  see  it  clearly.  If  the  body  be  of  iron  or  steel, 
it  may  be  extracted  by  means  of  a magnet  made 
for  that  purpose,  otherwise  a surgeon  had  best 
be  sent  for  at  once,  as  lasting  injury  may  result 
if  the  substance  be  left  in  the  eye  too  long,  or  if 
the  eye  be  perforated,  and  the  interior  liquids 
allowed  to  escape. 

Wounds  made  with  pointed  instruments,  such 
as  a knife,  scissors,  pin,  etc.,  sometimes  injure 
the  cornea  and  lens,  and  the  after  effect  is  fre- 
quently a cataract,  even  when  the  eye  is  not  lost. 
These  cataracts  are  usually  absorbed  in  young 
people,  but  in  older  persons  they  may  require 
an  operation  for  their  removal 

Lime  may  be  splashed  in  the  eye,  and  this  is  a 
dangerous  form  of  injury.  Quicklime  is  a pow- 
erful caustic,  and  often  causes  complete  blindness 
by  destroying  the  cornea.  When  this  substance 
gets  into  the  eye,  it  should  be  washed  out  as 
quickly  as  possible  with  water,  and  then  with  a 
solution  of  weak  acid  and  water — say,  a teaspoon- 
ful of  vinegar  to  a glass  of  water.  An  equally 
efficient  and  more  soothing  method,  however,  is 
to  bathe  the  injured  eye  in  sweet  oil. 


14 


INJURIES  TO  THE  EYE 


Showing  the  method  of  everting  the  upper  eyelid  for 
examination  or  removal  of  cinders  or  foreign  bodies. 


In  case  of  injury  by  acids,  one  part  of  lime- 
water  to  three  of  water  may  be  used,  or  the  eye 
may  be  freely  bathed  in  milk.  These  alkalis  off- 
set the  acid. 

Sympathetic  Inflammation.  When  one 
eye  is  injured  by  the  entrance  of  some  foreign 
body,  or  by  a wound,  the  injury  does  not  always 
limit  itself  to  that  eye.  The  other  eye  is  also 
affected,  and  becomes  inflamed  by  sympathy. 
This  is  noticeable  even  in  slight  injuries;  but  in 
grave  cases  it  may  become  so  serious  as  to  neces- 
sitate the  removal  of  the  injured  eye  (that  is,  if 
the  injured  eye  is  so  badly  hurt  as  to  render  it 
blind  and  useless).  In  our  days,  this  operation 
is  not  so  serious  as  it  used  to  be. 


15 


THE  EYES 


-TTif' J/eTfr  CouiTse 
Sc/ont£Ac 


xti  23  Zessojis 


By 

BERNARR  MACFADDEN 


VubtUhtdhy 

Physical  Culture  Publishing  Company 

J^9tu  yorK 


Copyright  1918  by 

PHYSICAL  CULTUEE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
New  York  City 


PART  XIV 


Common  Diseases  of  the  Eye 


IN  addition  to  “errors  of  refraction,”  there  are 
certain  diseases  of  the  eye  and  its  appendages 
which  require  special  mention,  since  these  are 
quite  frequently  met  with,  and  their  treatment  is 
often  limited,  in  orthodox  practice,  to  purely  local 
measures,  neglecting  the  constitutional  treatment 
which  is  usually  so  necessary. 

The  eye  is  made  up,  as  we  have  seen,  of  various 
parts,  and  each  of  these  parts  may  become  dis- 
eased, thus  we  have  diseases  of  the  iris,  conjunc- 
tiva, retina,  eyelids,  optic  nerve,  etc.,  as  the  case 
may  be.  We  shall  mention  the  most  important 
of  these,  giving  their  chief  causes  and  most 
effectual  means  of  cure  in  each  case. 

Congestion  of  the  Conjunctiva.  This 
often  results,  in  a mild  form,  after  exposure  of 
the  eyes  to  smoke,  or  even  to  strong  winds.  The 
conjunctiva  is,  however,  nearly  always  inflamed 
in  measles,  and  frequently  in  scarlet  fever  and 
smallpox.  Occasionally  a diphtheric  membrane 
is  formed  over  it,  either  with  or  without  an  accom- 
panying infection  of  the  throat.  These,  however, 
are  exceptionally  severe  cases.  In  most  in- 


3 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


stances,  a more  or  less  readily  curable  congestion 
results- — partly  from  the  causes  mentioned,  and 
partly  from  the  general  physical  condition  of  the 
patient.  The  blood,  being  full  of  impurities,  ag- 
gravates the  congestion.  These  cases  are  relieved 
from  within  by  those  hygienic  and  cleansing 
measures  which  tend  to  purify  the  blood  stream, 
and  carry  away  this  material. 

As  regards  the  external  treatment  of  the  eye, 
frequent  eye  baths  in  moderately  cold  salted 
water  will  be  found  beneficial.  These  may  be 
followed  by  the  application  of  cold  wet  cloths  to 
the  eyes,  changing  them  as  frequently  as  occasion 
may  require.  The  patient  must  rest  the  eyes  as 
much  as  possible,  avoid  reading  in  a poor  light  or 
straining  the  eyes  with  sewing  or  fine  print. 

Catarrhal  Conjunctivitis,  or  “Catarrh  of 
the  Eye,”  results  largely  from  a prolonged  con- 
tinuation of  conditions  similar  to  those  which  pro- 
duce congestion.  Those  suffering  from  this  com- 
plaint often  feel  as  though  sand  were  in  the  eyes. 
It  is  frequently  met  with  in  large  cities,  where 
dust  and  smoke  tend  to  keep  the  eyes  inflamed. 
The  eyes  are  often  found  glued  together  on 
awakening.  The  mucous  membrane  of  the  eye 
is  affected  in  much  the  same  way  as  those  of  the 
nose  and  throat,  and  often  at  the  same  time.  The 
eyes  may  be  sore  or  tender  to  the  touch. 

Constitutional  and  local  treatment,  as  advised 


4 


DISEASES  OF  THE  EYE 


for  congestion,  with  complete  rest  for  the  eyes, 
is  unquestionably  about  the  best  remedy  for  this 
trouble.  When  the  lids  are  swollen  and  the  eyes 
red  and  hot,  an  eye  bath  in  salted  water  may  be 
employed  to  advantage-  several  times  a day.  If 
inflammation  is  especially  severe,  a weak  solu- 
tion of  boric  acid  may  be  employed.  Poultices, 
eye  waters  and  remedies  of  that  sort  should  be 
avoided.  Burning  of  the  lids  can  nearly  always 
be  alleviated  by  an  eye  bath. 

Granular  Conjunctivitis:  Trachoma: 
Granulation  of  the  Eyelids. — All  these  are 
names  for  the  same  malady,  which  is  merely  a 
severe  form  of  the  two  former  complaints.  Vio- 
lent inflammation  of  the  eye,  which  is  covered 
with  numerous  nodules,  is  the  principal  character- 
istic. It  is  a tedious  and  obstinate  complaint, 
unless  treated  in  a prompt  and  efficient  manner. 
The  inner  surface  of  the  lids  often  becomes  thick- 
ened and  rough,  like  sandpaper,  and,  by  constant 
friction,  impairs  the  transparency  of  the  cornea. 
Trachoma  is  very  contagious  and  in  all  cases 
precautions  should  be  taken  to  avoid  communicat- 
ing the  disease  by  allowing  the  smallest  particle 
of  the  discharge  from  the  eyes  to  come  into  con- 
tact with  a healthy  eye.  Appropriate  antiseptic 
treatment  will  be  helpful.  An  eye-wash  made 
from  sulphate  of  zinc — about  one  grain  to  an 
ounce  being  the  usual  strength — is  often  effec- 


5 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


live  in  terminating  the  symptoms  of  this  unpleas- 
ant difficulty,  though  this  suggestion  does  not 
in  any  way  eliminate  the  necessity  for  careful 
constitutional  treatment. 

Purulent  Conjunctivitis  is  often  found  in 
the  newly  born,  and  results  from  gonorrheal  in- 
fection from  the  mother.  It  often  produces  blind- 
ness, unless  promptly  treated  with  nitrate  of  sil- 
ver under  proper  medical  supervision.  This 
should  be  followed  by  the  strictest  care  and  clean- 
liness. The  discharge,  which  is  thick  and  yellow- 
ish, and,  in  bad  cases,  very  copious,  is  undoubt- 
edly and  virulently  contagious.  Fortunately,  the 
disease  is  rarely  met  with  among  adults. 

Styes  are  a very  painful  species  of  small  boils 
which  form  generally  on  the  edge  of  the  eyelids. 
The  disease  usually  follows  more  or  less  the 
course  of  ordinary  boils,  and  is  nearly  always 
brought  about  through  constitutional  causes,  gen- 
eral debility,  a disordered  stomach,  impure  blood, 
etc.  If  treatment  is  begun  at  the  first  sign  of 
the  appearance  of  the  styes,  they  may  be  absorbed 
without  suppuration,  but  if  well  started,  relief 
may  be  secured  more  speedily  by  allowing  them 
to  come  to  a head.  Usually  they  will  open  them- 
selves when  ready  to  discharge  the  pus,  though  in 
some  cases  it  is  necessary  to  open  them  with  a 
lance.  A permanent  cure  can  be  effected  only  by 
adopting  constitutional  treatment.  Pimples,  boils 


6 


DISEASES  OF  THE  EYE 


and  such  conditions  are  nearly  always  produced 
by  abnormal  physical  conditions,  and  can  be 
cured  by  the  same  methods  that  are  applicable 
in  other  conditions  of  the  sort.  It  is  hardly  nec- 
essary to  say  that  strict  cleanliness  and  adequate 
drainage  of  the  parts  are  essential  in  this  con- 
dition. 

Diseases  of  the  Cornea.  These  are  trouble- 
some and  often  difficult  to  treat  and  still  more 
difficult  to  diagnose  properly  by  an  unqualified 
practitioner.  Says  Dr.  Black,  in  his  work  on  the 
eyes  : 

“Diseases  of  the  cornea  may  destroy  or  impair 
its  transparency,  or  the  ulcers  that  are  frequently 
formed  may  extend  through  its  substance,  allow 
the  aqueous  humor  to  escape,  and  involve  the  iris. 
Even  when  such  ulcers  heal  most  favorably,  they 
leave  a permanent  scar  in  the  form  of  a white 
speck.  Inflammation  of  the  cornea  is  usually 
painful  and  accompanied  by  distressing  sensitive- 
ness to  light.  It  occurs  most  frequently  in  per- 
sons whose  health  has  been  subjected  to  some 
depressing  cause,  or  in  children  who  have  inher- 
ited a delicate  constitution.  Many  of  the  latter 
are  subject  to  repeated  attacks  for  years,  but 
the  tendency  to  their  recurrence  generally  disap- 
pears before  adult  life,  and  if  care  be  taken  to 
prevent  each  attack  from  leaving  a permanent 
mark,  the  eyes  may  finally  remain  sound  and 


7 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


strong.  ...  A large,  white  opacity  of  the 
cornea  is  often  mistaken  for  cataract,  and  not 
many  years  ago,  when  a knowledge  of  diseases 
of  the  eye  was  not  so  general  as  now,  this  mistake 
was  sometimes  made  by  physicians,  and  such  pa- 
tients were  sent  hundreds  of  miles  to  have  the 
cataract  removed.” 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  point  out  that,  though 
“delicacy  of  constitution”  might  predispose  cer- 
tain persons  to  this  disease,  the  actual  causes  are 
an  overloaded  circulation,  poor  digestion,  poor 
light,  excessive  use  of  tobacco  and  alcohol,  etc. 

This  being  the  case,  the  treatment  for  all  forms 
of  these  diseased  conditions  is  obvious.  A rigid 
diet,  preceded,  if  possible,  by  a few  days’  fasting; 
plenty  of  water-drinking;  eye  baths;  fresh  air; 
exercises  which  tend  to  build  up  and  strengthen 
the  general  bodily  tone,  etc.,  are  all  essential. 
Plenty  of  good  light  and  sunshine  are  imperative 
at  all  times. 

Iritis,  or  inflammation  of  the  iris,  often  de- 
stroys the  sight  by  closing  the  pupil  and  shutting 
off  the  light  from  the  interior  of  the  eye.  It  may 
be  accompanied  by  inflammation  of  the  conjunc- 
tiva, and  hence  be  overlooked  until  well  devel- 
oped. It  should  always  be  suspected  when,  in 
an  acute  affection  of  the  eye,  the  sight  is  decidedly 
diminished  and  there  is  some  pain  in  the  ball,  and 
particularly  in  the  brow,  the  latter  being  always 


8 


DISEASES  OF  THE  EYE 


more  severe  at  night.  The  cause  is  usually  syph- 
ilis or  rheumatism,  and  one  of  the  chief  after 
effects  to  be  feared  is  the  permanent  contraction 
of  the  pupil.  Local  treatment  is  of  little  avail, 
but  the  application  of  hot  and  cold  cloths  alter- 
nately to  the  eye  will  usually  assuage  the  pain. 
The  patient  should  be  careful  not  to  use  the  eyes 
more  than  is  absolutely  necessary. 

Cataract  is  a disease  of  the  crystalline  lens,  in 
which  this  body  gradually  loses  its  transparency. 
The  pupil  may  lose  its  natural  blackness,  the 
whitish  surface  of  the  opaque  lens  being  seen  just 
behind  it.  Cataracts  are  not  “on  the  eye,”  as  is 
commonly  supposed,  but  in  it.  Until  lately,  it 
has  been  contended  that  the  surgeon’s  knife  was 
the  only  remedy,  but  other  methods  of  cure  are 
now  coming  in,  and  it  is  highly  probable  that  as 
soon  as  these  newer  methods  become  more  widely 
known  and  recognized  by  the  medical  profession, 
operations  will  not  be  found  necessary  in  any  but 
advanced  cases. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  cataracts — the  old,  hard 
cataract,  and  the  so-called  “soft”  cataract.  In 
the  majority  of  cases  a hard,  stonelike  substance 
forms  in  the  lens,  and  this  has  been  removed  by 
operation  successfully  in  many  instances.  In 
such  well-advanced  cases,  it  is  probable  that  all 
the  physical  culturist  can  do  is  to  encourage  such 
a condition  of  good  health  that  the  operation  can 


9 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


be  well  borne,  and  keep  the  blood  as  pure  as  pos- 
sible, to  carry  on  the  good  work  of  repair  after- 
wards. By  preserving  the  health,  however,  and 
using  the  eyes  properly,  cataract  may  be  pre- 
vented; and  prevention  is  better  than  cure  here 
as  elsewhere.  In  the  second  place,  in  their  earlier 
stages,  cataracts  have  been  permanently  cured  by 
focusing  the  sun’s  rays  on  the  lens  for  several 
seconds  at  a time  by  means  of  a burning  (mag- 
nifying) glass,  until  a slight  pain  is  experienced, 
allowing  the  eye  to  rest  for  a short  period,  then 
resuming  the  treatment.  However,  such  treat- 
ment should  under  no  consideration  be  given  ex- 
cept by  a thoroughly  qualified  physician.  In  its 
incipient  stages,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe, 
further,  that  cataract  can  be  cured  merely  by 
proper  use  of  the  eyes,  for  it  is  now  known  that 
cataracts  are  functional  at  first  and  only  become 
organic  later  on;  in  other  words,  cataract  is  pro- 
duced by  eye  strain.  Rest,  central  fixation  and 
the  proper  care  of  the  eyes  will  not  only  prevent 
this  condition,  but  will  cure  it  when  it  has  not 
gone  too  far. 

The  reason  for  this  is  simple  enough.  It  is 
this : The  lens  is  composed  of  a number  of  trans- 
parent layers  superimposed  one  upon  another — 
like  a number  of  sheets  of  glass  laid  flat  one  upon 
another.  When  these  all  lie  flat  and  even,  the 
light  can  penetrate  them  all  equally  and  without 


10 


DISEASES  OF  THE  EYE 


interference;  but  if  any  of  them  become  separated 
or  warped,  then  the  light-rays  are  bent  and 
warped,  and  the  otherwise  transparent  medium 
becomes  more  or  less  opaque.  This  is  what  hap- 
pens in  the  case  of  cataract.  By  improper  use 
of  the  eyes  these  delicate  layers  are  disarranged. 
Instead  of  lying  flat,  some  of  them  are  bent  or 
warped,  preventing  the  free  passage  through 
them  of  the  light-rays.  When  this  state  has  been 
maintained  long  enough  a degenerative  change 
within  the  eye  takes  place.  When  this  happens, 
the  only  thing  to  be  done  is  to  remove  the  lens, 
and  thanks  to  the  advance  of  modern  surgery, 
this  may  now  be  done  in  the  majority  of  cases 
with  relative  safety. 

Both  clinical  and  experimental  proof  that  this 
theory  of  the  facts  is  correct  is  forthcoming.  If 
you  take  a bullock’s  eye,  and  squeeze  it,  you  can 
instantly  produce  cataract — with  the  typical 
white,  glassy  look  in  the  pupil.  As  soon  as  the 
pressure  is  removed,  the  eye  again  becomes  nor- 
mal. The  little  “plates”  have  been  bent  and 
warped,  and  functional  cataract  has  been  pro- 
duced. This  theory  of  cataract  is  also  sustained 
by  the  fact  that  such  patients  actually  do  get 
well,  under  the  influence  of  eye  education, 
whereas  formerly  there  was  considered  to  be  no 
help  for  them.  The  reason  the  pupil  of  the  eye 
appears  white,  instead  of  its  customary  black,  in 

ti 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


such  cases,  is  because  the  light-rays  entering  the 
eye  are  interfered  with. 

The  regime  which  sufferers  from  incipient  cat- 
aract should  adopt,  therefore,  is  the  following: 
Comply  strictly  with  all  the  laws  of  health,  in- 
cluding an  abstemious  diet  with  plenty  of  fruit 
and  water  and  no  alcohol;  use  eye-baths  and  all 
similar  local  measures  of  relief;  and  practice 
daily  exercises  in  central  fixation  and  relaxation 
by  means  of  visualizing  blackness.  These  meth- 
ods and  exercises  will  rest  and  relax  the  internal 
mechanism  of  the  eye;  and  the  cataract  will  be 
cured.  If  these  measures  are  adopted  and  ad- 
hered to,  at  the  very  beginning  of  such  cases, 
there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  majority 
of  cataracts  can  be  overcome  in  their  initial  stages, 
and  before  they  develop  to  the  point  where  they 
become  organic. 

Glaucoma  is  a disease  which  frequently  re- 
sults in  blindness  and  about  which  little  is  known. 
It  is  thought  that  an  excess  of  fluids  in  the  eye 
makes  the  ball  tense  and  hard,  and  exerts  inju- 
rious pressure  upon  its  delicate  contents.  In 
acute  cases,  it  is  intensely  painful,  and  rapidly 
destroys  sight  by  pressure  upon  the  optic  nerve.- 
In  its  earliest  stage,  its  progress  has  been  checked 
by  an  operation  w^hich  consists  in  cutting  out  a 
piece  of  the  iris;  but  when  the  nerve  is  once 
paralyzed,  other  complications  arise. 


12 


DISEASES  OF  THE  EYE 


In  no  other  disease  is  early  diagnosis  and  treat- 
ment more  important,  and  many  of  its  victims 
have  been  condemned  to  blindness  by  delay.  No 
one  with  a violent  pain  in  the  eye  and  head,  par- 
ticularly if  it  is  accompanied  by  flashes  of  light, 
rainbow  colors  and  dimness  of  vision,  should 
allow  himself  to  be  lulled  into  a sense  of  security 
by  thinking  it  is  “neuralgia.” 

Although  the  ultimate  and  true  causes  of  glau- 
coma are  as  yet  unknown,  the  thing  to  do,  imme- 
diately it  has  been  diagnosed,  is  to  adopt  a very 
abstemious  diet,  following  a fast  of  a few  days, 
if  possible;  use  all  those  measures  which  tend  to 
build  up  the  general  health,  and  practice  central 
fixation  and  relaxation  of  the  eyes  by  visualizing 
black.  Frequent  cold  eye-baths  may  also  be  use- 
ful. In  all  cases  a specialist  should  be  consulted 
at  once. 

Diseases  of  the  Choroid  and  Retina.  These 
diseases  can  be  detected  only  by  means  of  the 
ophthalmoscope,  but  may  be  foretold  by  increas- 
ing dimness  of  vision.  They  usually  develop 
painlessly,  and  hence  are  as  insidious  as  they  are 
unfortunate.  It  is  probable  that  the  excessive 
use  of  tobacco  and  alcohol  are  great  contributory 
causes  of  these  conditions,  and  hence  the  necessity 
of  omitting  them  completely  when  treatment  is 
begun.  Syphilis  and  kidney  disease  are  also  com- 
mon causes. 


13 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


Atrophy  or  the  Optic  Nerve.  This  is  a 
very  serious  progressive  disease,  resulting  in  total 
blindness.  Syphilis  is  a frequent  cause,  and  it 
goes  without  saying  that  such  a condition  would 
be  impossible  in  a healthy  body,  or  in  one  wherein 
the  seeds  of  disease  had  not  been  sown. 

The  Hereditary  Transmission  of  Eye  Dis- 
eases. There  is  evidence  to  show  that  a certain 
number  of  eye  diseases — or  rather  the  tendency 
to  these  diseases — ^may  be  acquired  by  means  of 
heredity.  In  color  blindness  this  is  particularly 
marked,  as  well  as  in  certain  peculiarities  or  con- 
formations of  the  eyes.  Actual  diseases  are  prob- 
ably not  inherited,  and  errors  of  refraction  are 
probably  acquired  in  each  generation.  A tendency 
to  gouty  or  rheumatic  iritis,  it  has  been  contended, 
may  be  inherited;  but  here  again  it  is  probable 
that  no  more  than  the  tendency  is  ever  passed 
on  in  this  way.  A peculiar  affection,  “retinitis 
pigmentosa,”  which  is  recognized,  with  the  oph- 
thalmoscope, by  the  presence  of  black  spots  upon 
the  retina,  shows  a marked  tendency  to  hered- 
itary transmission.  It  also  occurs  in  several  mem- 
bers of  the  same  family,  though  there  may  be  no 
history  of  it  in  the  family.  The  prominent  symp- 
toms are  “night  blindness”  and  a gradually  in- 
creasing contraction  of  the  field  of  vision.  ( This 
is  also  a characteristic  of  certain  forms  of  hys- 
teria.) It  is  also  probable  that  “nyctalopia,”  or 


14 


DISEASES  OF  THE  EYE 


the  reverse  condition — ability  to  see  in  the  dark — 
is  to  some  extent  hereditary.  But  it  may  be  laid 
down  as  a general  rule  that  eye  diseases — like  all 
other  diseases — are  not  hereditary,  but  are  ac- 
quired by  each  generation,  and  by  each  individual 
for  him  or  herself. 


15 


i UBRART  ^ g 

OF  THE 

iWtVERSin  OF  ti.i  iMni 

Sn®NGTHENING 
THE  EYES 


—3^  J^ew  Coarse  jiz- 


BERNAIiR  MACFADDEN 


f*ubtijhed  by 

Physical  Culture  Publishing  Company 

/fetv  yorK 


PART  XV 


Eye  Exercises 

Nothing  couH  be  more  evident  than  the 
fact  that  exercise  of  the  eyes  will 
strengthen  these  organs  just  as  exercise  of 
any  other  part  of  the  body  will  strengthen  that 
part. 

Exercise  of  any  group  of  muscles  not  only 
tends  directly  to  strengthen  those  muscles,  but  it 
so  improves  the  circulation  as  to  build  tone  in  the 
adjacent  parts.  If  any  part  of  the  body  is  weak, 
flabby,  ineffective,  exercises  which  involve  the  use 
of  the  muscles  in  that  region  will  have  a strength- 
ening and  toning-up  effect.  This  applies  with 
special  force  to  exercises  for  the  muscles  of  the 
eye. 

Most  persons  will  be  surprised,  perhaps  even 
amazed,  at  the  improvement  in  the  condition  of 
the  eyes  accomplished  by  two  or  three  weeks  of 
proper  exercise  of  the  eye  muscles.  This  does 
not  mean  that  one  should  keep  up  this  work  for 
only  two  or  three  weeks.  If  you  will  make  it  a 
daily  practice  you  can  expect  to  enjoy  strong 
eyes  and  good  vision  to  perhaps  the  end  of  life. 
You  will  find  that  these  exercises  are  very 


2 


EYE  EXERCISES 


y Exercise  i. — Turn  and  stretch  the  eyes  far  to  the  left. 


Exercise  i (Continued). — Then  turn  and  stretch  them  far 
to  the  right,  continuing  the  movement  back  and  forth 
from  left  to  right  ten  times  or  more 


3 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


Exercise  2. — Turn  the  eyes  upward,  that  is  to  say,  look  as 
high  upward  as  possible  without  raising  the  head. 

4 


EYE  EXERCISES 


Exercise  2 (Continued). — Then,  without  moving  the  head, 
lower  the  eyes  looking  as  far  down  as  possible.  Continue 
raising  and  lowering  the  eyes  ten  times  or  more. 

5 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


Exercise  3. — Raising  the  eyes,  look  upward  obliquely  to 
the  left. 


6 


EYE  EXERCISES 


Exercise  3 (Continued). — Then  lower  them  obliquely  to  the 
other  side,  looking  downward  toward  the  right.  Repeat  ten 
times  or  more. 

7 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


Exercise  4. — Raise  the  eyes  upward  obliquely  to  the  right. 


8 


EYE  EXERCISES 


Exercise  4 (Continued). — ^Then  stretch  them  obliquely 
downward  to  the  left.  Continue  back  and  forth  ten  times 
or  more. 


9 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


Exercise  5. — Roll  the  eyes  around  in  a circle,  to  the  left 
upward,  to  the  right  downward,  so  on  around.  Then  re- 
verse, rolling  them  the  other  way  around.  Continue  until 
slightly  tired. 


10 


EYE  EXERCISES 


Exercise  6. — Shut  the  eyes  tightly  and  vigorously,  squeez= 
ing  the  eyelids  together  as  firmly  as  possible.  Open  and 
repeat  ten  times  or  more. 

11 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


Exercise  7. — This  is  an  exercise  that  should  be  performed 
without  strain,  and  at  first  with  only  two  to  four  repeti- 
tions at  a time.  Simply  look  cross-eyed  as  though  trying 
to  see  the  bridge  of  the  nose  with  both  eyes  at  once. 

Simple  indeed.  You  should  practice  them  not 
once  a day,  but  a number  of  times  each  day. 
You  can  practice  them  while  dressing  in  the 
morning,  while  undressing  in  the  evening,  while 
out  on  your  walks,  while  sitting  in  the  car,  or 
even  while  taking  your  meals.  But  you  should 
set  aside  some  particular  time  for  this  special 
purpose,  whether  it  be  morning  or  evening,  else 
they  are  more  than  likely  to  be  crowded  out.  At 
this  time  you  should  follow  the  eye  exercises  by 
a little  of  the  massage  treatment  described  in 
another  lesson,  and  in  the  end  use  the  eye  bath, 
also  elsewhere  described. 

One  of  the  most  vigorous  of  eye  exercises,  and 
one  extremely  effective  for  gaining  voluntary 
control  of  the  muscles  of  the  eyes,  is  the  practice 
of  looking  cross-eyed.  A great  many  persons 
will  naturally  shrink  from  the  thought  of  such  an 
exercise  from  the  fear  that  looking  cross-eyed  will 
have  a detrimental  and  possible  permanent  effect 
upon  the  eyes. 


12 


EYE  EXERCISES 


Eye  Exercise  Diagram  No.  i. — (Explanation  in  text.) 


The  fact  is  that  looking  cross-eyed  voluntarily 
indicates  a good  muscular  condition  and  good 
control  of  the  muscles  concerned.  It  is  also  an 
exercise  which  will  strengthen  these  muscles.  If 
a person  with  a tendency  to  squint  will  learn  to 
look  cross-eyed  voluntarily,  and  practice  it  as  an 
exercise,  thereby  strengthening  the  muscles  con- 
cerned and  gaining  control  of  them,  this  will  be 
found  the  very  best  way  in  the  world  to  correct 
the  condition. 

Another  very  simple  method  of  exercising  the 
eyes  will  be  found  in  a system  of  following  lines 
drawn  within  a large  circle,  or  an  imaginary  sys- 


13 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


Eye  Exercise  Diagram  No.  2, — (Explanation  in  text.) 


tern  of  lines  based  upon  various  diagrams,  such 
as  those  illustrated  in  the  accompanying  draw- 
ings. Suppose  that  the  circle  represents  the 
complete  range  of  vision  attained  by  rolling  the 
eyes  around.  Imagine,  then,  that  this  circle  occu- 
pies the  space  on  the  wall  of  the  room,  in  front 
of  you,  that  you  can  see  by  rolling  your  eyes 
around.  Then  imagine  a series  of  lines  or  a 
continuous  line  running  from  side  to  side,  as  in 
Eye  Exercise  Diagram  No.  1,  from  the  top  of 
the  circle  to  the  bottom.  Now,  starting  at  the 
top,  follow  on  the  wall  with  your  eyes  just  such 
an  imaginary  scheme  of  lines  as  that  in  the  dia- 


14 


EYE  EXERCISES 


Eye  Exercise  Diagram  No.  3. — (Explanation  in  text.) 

gram.  Practice  this  a few  moments  with  one  eye 
first,  then  with  the  other,  finally  with  both  eyes 
together,  and  then  go  on  to  the  exercise  sug- 
gested in  Diagram  No.  2.  In  Diagram  No.  3 
the  eye  starts  in  the  center,  then  tracing  out  a 
circular,  or  to  be  more  exact,  an  imaginary  spiral 
line,  until  the  circling  of  the  entire  range  of 
vision  is  attained.  The  head  must  not  be  moved. 

If  you  follow  the  eye  exercises  offered  in  the 
photographic  illustrations  there  will  be  no  need  of 
adding  these  imaginary  line  tracing  exercises. 
But  you  may  occasionally  find  them  interesting 
as  a change. 


15 


UBRAR? 
OF  THE 


THE  EYES 

— J/evfr  Cou2tse  jjz^ 
Sciont/Ac^^^elra/aitz^ 
JI2  23  Zqssohs 


BERNARR  MACFADDEN 


Vublijhed  by 

Physical  Culture  Publishing  Company 


Copyright  1918  by 

PHYSICAL  CULTUEE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
New  York  City 


PART  XVI 


Eye-Focusing  Exekcises 

The  exercises  given  in  this  chapter  are  of  a 
type  quite  different  from  those  recom- 
mended in  the  preceding  lesson.  They  are 
designed  to  strengthen  the  power  of  accommoda- 
tion, that  is,  the  power  of  changing  the  focus  of 
the  eyes  for  vision  at  different  distances,  and 
will  be  particularly  valuable  to  those  who  are 
either  near-sighted  or  far-sighted. 

Shut  one  eye  and  hold  a pencil  point  five  or 
six  inches  in  front  of  the  other.  Now,  look 
through  the  window  at  some  point  on  the  horizon 
or  any  distant  object.  After  looking  for  two  or 
three  seconds  at  this  distant  point,  focus  the  eye 
on  the  pencil  point.  If  your  eyes  are  normal 
you  will  be  able  to  change  the  focus  without  any 
consciousness  of  effort,  but  otherwise  you  may 
experience  very  clearly  the  sensation  of  muscular 
effort  in  and  about  the  eyeball.  This  muscular 
effort,  whether  one  is  conscious  of  it  or  not, 
accompanies  all  changes  of  the  focus  of  the  eye, 
and  the  power  of  making  these  changes  must  ob- 
viously be  improved  by  the  daily  practice  of  some 
such  exercise  as  this. 


3 


An  eye=focusing  exercise  for  both  eyes.  (See  text.)  Look- 
ing first  at  the  point  of  a pencil  held  near  by  as  in  the 
upper  photo,  shift  your  view  to  look  closely  at  a distant 
cloud,  or  some  tree  or  building  on  the  horizon.  Imme- 
diately upon  seeing  the  distant  object,  concentrate  the 
sight  again  upon  the  pencil  point  until  you  see  it  sharply. 
Continue  alternately  concentrating  the  sight  far  and  near 
from  ten  to  twenty  times. 

4 


A similar  eye=focusing  exercise,  using  one  eye  at  a time. 
First  concentrate  on  the  nearby  pencil  point  or  any  close 
object,  then  concentrate  on  some  distant  object,  return  to 
pencil  point  and  continue,  making  it  a point  to  see  both 
near  and  far  objects  sharply  and  clearly  for  an  instant. 

Same  with  both  eyes. 

5 


Another  eye=focusing  exercise.  Closing  one  eye,  first  look 
at  the  end  of  the  nose  with  the  open  eye,  trying  to  see  it 
as  sharply  as  possible  as  in  the  upper  photo.  Then,  con- 
centrate the  sight  upon  some  distant  point  for  a moment. 
Repeat. ten  to  twenty  times.  Same  with  the  other  eye. 


EYE-FOCUSTNG 


A combination  eyeball  exercise  and  eye=focusing  exercise. 
First  try  to  see  the  end  of  the  nose  as  sharply  as  possible 
as  in  the  above  photo.  (See  next  photo.) 

7 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


Then,  shift  the  gaze  to  some  distant  point  for  a moment. 
Look  again  at  the  end  of  the  nose  and  continue,  repeating 
only  four  or  five  times  at  first. 

8 


EYE-FOCUSING 


The  exercises  should  be  practiced  with  one  eye 
at  a time,  and  with  both  eyes  together.  At  first 
you  may  not  be  able  to  see  things  very  close  to 
the  eyes,  but  gradually  you  will  find  yourself 
able  to  diminish  the  distance.  Begin  by  holding 
your  pencil  at  whatever  point  you  can  see  it  most 
clearly,  concentrate  the  sight  upon  it  and  then 
look  at  some  distant  object,  such  as  a cloud,  a 
tree,  a house  or  a chimney.  You  can  vary  the 
exercise,  if  you  like,  by  looking  at  intervening 
distances,  from  a few  feet  lip  to  fifty  feet,  one 
hundred  feet,  three  hundred  feet  and  so  on.  Then 
you  can  begin  to  hold  the  pencil  point,  thimble, 
needle,  printed  card  or  whatever  it  is  you  choose 
to  use,  nearer  to  the  eye.  The  nearer  to  the 
eye  the  more  vigorous  the  effort  required  to  focus 
the  sight  upon  it.  You  will,  in  time,  find  that 
you  can  easily  shift  your  vision  from  a ‘distant 
object  to  your  pencil  or  thimble  held  perhaps 
four  or  six  inches  in  front  of  the  eye,  and  see 
clearly  and  sharply  at  both  distances. 

- A fairly  good  plan  is  to  go  to  the  window,  and 
instead  of  using  a pencil  find  some  speck  or  im- 
perfection in  the  glass  upon  which  you  can  con- 
centrate for  the  nearby  point,  and  then 
alternately  shift  the  sight  from  this  point  to  a 
cloud  or  distant  tree. 

Another  plan  is  to  throw  the  head  back,  shut- 
ting one  eye,  and  with  the  other  trying  to  see 


9 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


sharply  the  end  of  the  nose,  afterward  looking 
to  the  distance  and  then  back  to  the  end  of  the 
nose.  A combination  of  this  exercise  and  that 
of  looking  cross-eyed  may  be  practiced  by  using 
both  eyes,  looking  first  at  the  end  of  the  nose  with 
both  eyes,  then  to  some  distant  point,  and  then 
at  the  end  of  the  nose  again. 


10 


PART  XVII 


Exercises  for  the  Pupil  of  the  Eye 

IT  is  a comparatively  simple  matter  to  exercise 
the  little  sphincter  and  dilator  muscles  which 
have  to  do  with  the  enlarging  and  diminish- 
ing of  the  pupil  of  the  eye.  Under  normal  con- 
ditions of  vigor  these  muscles  scarcely  need 
attention.  It  is  only  when  the  eyes  are  weak, 
and  these  muscles  do  not  respond  readily  in  ac- 
commodating the  opening  to  various  degrees  and 
intensities  of  light,  that  special  exercise  is 
required. 

Naturally,  the  only  practical  way  to  exercise 
these  muscles  is  to  find  a method  of  exposing  the 
eye  in  rapid  succession  to  degrees  of  light  of 
varying  intensity.  At  night  this  may  he  done  by 
turning  an  electric  light  on  and  off  repeatedly 
for  a minute  or  two.  In  the  daytime  one  can 
stand  in  a room  with  one  window,  pulling  the 
shade  down  to  darken  the  room,  and  then  raising 
it  and  looking  out  of  doors.  In  either  case  try 
to  see  the  various  objects  in  the  room  when  it  is 
darkened.  It  is  through  this  effort  to  see  in  the 
dark  that  the  dilator  muscles  will  be  especially 


11 


Exercising  the  pupil  of  the  eye.  This  is  best  done  in  a 
dark  room.  At  first,  do  not  look  directly  at  the  light  but 
at  some  white  object,  turning  the  light  off  and  on  at  inter- 
vals of  two  or  three  seconds.  You  can  soon  accustom 
yourself  to  looking  squarely  at  the  light  while  turning  it 
on  and  off.  One  minute  or  less  will  be  sufficient  for  the 
purpose. 

12 


PUPIL  OF  THE  EYE 


stimulated,  as  the  pupil  enlarges  as  much  as 
possible  to  enable  you  to  see. 

When  the  electric  light  is  turned  on,  or  the 
shade  raised,  the  greatest  stimulation  will  be  de- 
rived from  looking  directly  at  the  light,  or  at  the 
sun,  for  an  instant,  provided  this  does  not  involve 
the  sensation  of  eye  strain  or  discomfort.  It 
might  not  be  wise,  hov/ever,  to  do  this  unless  you 
are  sure  that  your  eyes  are  fairly  strong.  You 
can  get  sufficiently  good  results  in  looking  at  any 
white  object  when  the  light  is  turned  on,  for  in- 
stance, the  blank  page  of  a book.  Turn  the  light 
on  and  off  at  intervals  of  two  or  three  seconds. 
If  your  eyes  are  sensitive  to  artificial  light  it  may 
be  better  to  practice  this  exercise  in  the  daytime, 
pulling  down  the  window  shade  and  then  raising 
it.  One  or  two  minutes  of  this  exercise  usually 
should  be  sufficient. 


13 


THE  EYES 

—3^  J/ew  CouirsQ 
Scient^c  £^^e2h2/tiin^ 


III  2S  Zqssojis 


BERNARR  MACFADDEN 


Pubtished  by 

Physical  Culture  Publishing^  Company 

Acto  yorK 


PART  XVIII 


Eye  Massage  and  Resistance 

IN  conjunction  with  the  various  methods  for 
strengthening  and  invigorating  the  eyes  out- 
lined in  this  book,  massage  of  the  eye  and 
adjacent  tissues  will  be  found,  in  many  cases,  to 
be  of  great  practical  value. 

Massage  is  known  to  be  beneficial  in  its  effects 
upon  all  parts  of  the  body.  The  nerves  are  stim- 
ulated, the  blood  stirred  into  greater  and  more 
active  circulation,  and  the  muscles  and  tissues 
generally  stimulated  into  more  vigorous  life.  It 
is  now  employed  to  advantage  in  many  forms  of 
disease.  The  professional  beauty  knows  these 
facts,  and  lays  the  greatest  stress  upon  both  facial 
and  bodily  massage,  while  athletic  trainers  rub 
and  massage  the  bodies  of  their  charges  before 
and  after  any  event  of  importance. 

Why,  then,  should  some  form  of  modified  mas- 
sage not  be  of  value  in  the  treatment  of  the  eyes  ? 
Of  course,  one  can  not  very  well  massage  the 
eyes  in  the  same  way  one  would  a muscle,  but 
they  can  certainly  be  strengthened  and  invig- 
orated by  manipulation  which  quickens  the  circu- 
lation of  the  blood  and  stimulates  the  nerves. 


2 


Probably  the  best  eye  massage  is  applied  with  the  heel  of 
the  hand,  either  at  the  base  of  the  thumb  or  opposite  as 
in  the  above  photo.  With  gentle  pressure  give  the  hand 
a twisting  movement.  At  the  same  time,  contract  and 
relax  the  eyelid  muscles.  This  is  in  line  with  the  natural 
impulse  often  felt  to  “rub  the  eyes.’’ 


3 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


Placing  the  thumb  and  finger  upon  the  upper  and  lower 
eyelids  as  illustrated,  impart  a very  gentle  massaging  mo- 
tion. You  should  gently  “feel”  the  eyeball  in  applying 
this  massage.  A half  a minute  or  less  should  be  sufficient. 

4 


EYE  MASSAGE 


With  two  fingers  placed  one  on  each  side  of  the  eyeball 
make  a gentle  upward  and  downward  movement.  Use 
no  pressure.  The  gentlest  movement  will  suffice. 


5 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


A gentle  resistance  exercise.  Either  close  or  partly  close 
the  right  eye,  placing  the  forefinger  at  the  right  of  the 
eye.  Then  turn  the  eye  to  the  right  and  resist  very 
slightly  with  the  pressure  of  the  finger  upon  the  eyeball. 

Relax  and  repeat  a few  times  only. 

This  massage  treatment,  if  used,  should  follow 
the  eye  exercises.  It  is  a good  plan  to  follow  the 
massage  with  the  eye  bath. 


A continuation  of  the  preceding  eye  resistance  exercise. 
Shift  the  same  finger  to  the  inner  side  of  the  left  eye, 
resisting  slightly  as  before  while  turning  the  eye  to  the 
right.  The  left  forefinger  can  be  used  on  the  left  side  of 

each  eye. 

6 


PART  XIX 


The  Eye  Bath 

IT  is  a good  plan  to  follow  the  massage  of  the 
eyes  with  an  “eye  bath.”  A weak  solution 
of  salt  and  water,  or  a dilute  solution  of 
boric  acid  and  water,  is  the  best  for  this  pur- 
pose, under  ordinary  conditions.  These  solu- 
tions must  on  no  account  be  strong.  The  water 
must  not  be  brine,  nor  the  boric  acid  solution  too 
strong.  The  water  should  usually  be  cool,  or 
lukewarm;  but  the  temperature  must  depend 
upon  circumstances.  In  certain  inflammatory 
conditions  of  the  eye,  it  is  often  advisable  to  have 
the  water  quite  cold,  while  on  the  other  hand,  in 
all  injuries  and  local  affections,  which  render  the 
eye  sore  or  tender,  it  is  best  to  bathe  it  in  warm 
or  hot  water — at  least,  at  first.  The  bath,  as  a 
rule,  should  not  last  more  than  twenty  or  thirty 
seconds  for  each  eye,  and  should  be  followed  by 
a blinking  of  the  eye — which,  however,  will  prob- 
ablj"  follow  automatically. 

The  eye-bath  may  be  taken  in  two  ways.  The 
first  method  is  to  fill  an  ordinary  bowl  with  water, 
hold  the  breath,  immerse  the  face  in  the  water, 
and  then  open  and  close  the  eyes  a number  of 


7 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


For  taking  the  eye  bath,  the  simplest  plan  is  to  fill  an 
ordinary  wash  bowl  with  a weak  solution  of  salt  water  or 
dilute  boric  acid. 

times  while  the  eyes  are  well  under  water.  This 
can  be  repeated  two  or  three  times.  This  is  the 
first  method,  and  while  it  has  the  disadvantage  of 
wetting  the  whole  face,  has  the  advantage  of  lack 
of  suction,  which  the  second  method  entails. 

The  Eye-Cup.  Eye-cups  are  now  easily  ob- 
tained, at  a low  figure,  and  are  very  useful  little 
appliances,  enabling  one  to  bathe  the  eyes,  with- 


8 


THE  EYE  BATH 


Taking  the  eye  bath  in  a basin.  Immerse  the  face  in  the 
salt  water  or  boric  acid  solution  and  open  the  eyes  under 
water,  then  moving  them  from  side  to  side,  up  and  down, 
and  rolling  them  around. 

out  immersing  the  whole  face,  as  in  the  method 
just  described.  In  this  case,  the  eye-cup  is  filled 
with  whatever  solution  is  to  be  used  and  then 
the  head  is  tilted  backward,  and  the  eye  under 
the  cup  opened  and  closed  a number  of  times. 
The  same  operation  is  repeated  in  the  case  of  the 
other  eye.  It  is  a good  thing  not  to  keep  the  cup 
against  the  eye  for  too  long  a time,  owing  to  the 
suction  which  develops  in  consequence.  It  should 
be  removed  several  times,  and  then  applied  again. 


9 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


Taking  an  eye  bath  with  the  eye=cup.  The  eye=cup  filled 
with  boric  acid  solution  is  so  placed  as  to  fit  the  eye  socket 
with  the  head  bent  forward  over  it.  Then  tip  the  head  back 
as  in  the  illustration  and  open  the  eye  and  move  it  about  in 
the  solution. 


10 


THE  EYE  BATH 


As  regards  medicinal  substances  to  be  used  in 
the  water,  there  are  but  few  of  these  which  can 
be  recommended.  A small  percentage  of  salt  is 
often  strengthening  to  the  eyes,  but  a heavy  brine 
is  irritating  and  injurious.  A dilute  solution  of 
boric  acid  is  often  beneficial,  as  it  tends  to  cleanse 
the  eye  and  wash  out  irritating  substances.  Apart 
from  these  solutions,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the 
further  the  patient  keeps,  ordinarily,  from  “eye 
lotions”  and  concoc- 
tions of  that  sort,  the 
better. 

These  eye-baths 
should  have  the  effect 
of  strengthening  and 
stimulating  the  eyes 
in  a wholesome,  hygi- 
enic manner,  without 
irritation.  Cases  of 
weak  and  dull  eyes 
are  especially  helped 
by  them,  and  they  are 
helpful  in  practically 
every  case  of  eye  dis- 
ease and  defect, 
where  they  are  not 

1.  , . The  eye=cup.  A convenient 

distinctly  contra-in-  device  for  taking  the  eye  bath 

with  a minimum  of  boric  acid 
aicatea.  water. 


11 


PART  XX 


Eye  Strength  Through  Sunlight 


Here  is  presented  a most  remarkable  discovery  to  the  effect 
that  the  rays  of  the  sun  have  not  only  a beneficial,  but  a cura- 
tive effect  upon  the  eyes.  The  physician  who  conducted  these 
researches,  and  who  affirms  the  validity  of  these  statements, 
does  not  attempt  to  explain  this  benignant  influence  of  the  sun- 
light, but  the  fact  is  attested  by  numerous  proofs. 

The  publishers,  however,  suggest  caution  in  attempting  any 
home  treatment  of  this  kind.  The  policy  of  ^^safety  first”  has 
come  to  be  a recognized  principle  of  modem  life,  and  it  would 
undoubtedly  be  wise  to  experiment  carefully  with  radical  meas- 
ures of  this  sort.  Any  one  can  experiment  with  sun-gazing  in 
the  early  morning  or  late  afternoon,  but  caution  is  suggested  in 
attempting  to  outstare  the  noonday  sun  in  June.  The  burning 
glass  should  never  be  used  by  inexperienced  persons. 

WHILE  it  is  recognized  in  a general  way 
that  light  is  good  for  the  eyes,  most 
people  entertain  a fear  of  what  they  call 
“strong  light.”  For  this  reason,  as  well  as  be- 
cause the  light  often  causes  them  actual  discom- 
fort, people  protect  their  eyes  from  the  sunlight 
with  smoked  and  amber  glasses,  broad-brimmed 
hats  and  parasols,  while  persons  working  under 
artificial  light  use  eye-shades  and  similar  devices. 
All  this  is,  to  a large  extent,  superstition. 


12 


EYE  STRENGTH 


' The  eyes  need  no  protection  either  from  the 
light  of  the  sun  or  from  any  other  light.  No 
artificial  light  can  equal  the  rays  of  the  sun  in 
intensity,  and  the  sunlight,  far  from  being  harm- 
ful, is  the  best  thing  in  the  world  for  the  eyes. 
The  eyes  were  made  to  react  to  the  light,  and  in 
its  absence  they  deteriorate  and  become  weak. 
Fishes  which  live  in  sunless  caves  become  blind; 
miners  and  people  living  in  dark  tenements  de- 
velop all  sorts  of  eye  troubles.  Their  eyes 

become  increasingly  sen- 
sitive to  the  light-rays 
until  after  a time  they 
cannot  look  at  strong 
light  at  all  without  pain. 
Then  they  are  advised 
not  to  do  so,  but  to  rest 
the  eyes  by  remaining  in 
a dark  room  until  they 
have  recovered ! As  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  eyes 
are  weak  just  because 
they  have  lacked  the 
benefit  of  the  sun’s  rays ; 
and  what  they  need  more 
than  anything  else,  in  or- 
der to  get  well,  is  the 
thing  of  which  they  have 
been  deprived.  Sun- 


Persons  with  normal 
sight  can  look  directly  at 
the  sun  without  injury  or 
discomfort.  Note  that  the 
eyes  are  wide  open,  with 
no  evidence  of  pain  and 
no  watering. 


13 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


Demonstrating  again  that  the  nor= 
mal  eye  can  regard  the  orb  of  day 
without  injury.  With  the  sun  shin= 
ing  almost  directly  into  her  eye,  the 
subject  reads  the  Snellen  test  card 
with  normal  vision. 


light  is  one  of 
the  best  curative 
agents  we  can 
employ  for  the 
eye.  Persons 
with  weak  and 
defective  eyes 
should  gaze  up 
in  the  direction 
of  the  sun  every 
day,  until  they 
are  able  to  look 
straight  at  it 
without  pain  or 
injury. 

Not  only  is  it 
beneficial  to  look 
at  the  sun,  but 
in  most  diseases 
of  the  eyes  the  sun’s  rays  concentrated  upon 
them  by  means  of  a burning  glass  exert  a re- 
markably curative  effect.  This  has  been  men- 
tioned in  another  chapter  in  the  case  of  cataract, 
and  the  treatment  has  been  used  with  astonishing 
success  in  other  conditions.  The  following  are 
examples  of  hundreds  of  similar  cases  that 
might  be  cited : 

A man  suffering  from  inflammation  of  the 
eyelids  was  unable  to  attend  to  his  work,  because. 


14 


EYE  STRENGTH 


as  soon  as  he  left  the  house  and  went  into  the  sun- 
light, the  discomfort  he  experienced  was  so  great 
that  he  was  unable  to  see,  and  had  to  return 
home.  He  had  been  in  this  condition  for  more 
than  fifteen  years,  and  had  received  all  kinds  of 
treatment  from  many  physicians.  After  a few 
treatments  with  the  burning  glass  he  was  able 
to  return  to  his  work  without  further  trouble. 

Another  man  suffering  from  trachoma  was 
unable  to  open  his  eyes  in  the  sunlight,  and 
therefore  had 


great  difficulty 
in  finding  his 
way  about. 
One  treatment 
enabled  him  to 
open  his  eyes 
and  go  into  the 
sunlight  with- 
out discomfort. 

These  cases 
are  interesting, 
because  they 
serve  still  fur- 
ther to  illus- 
trate the  base- 
lessness of  the 
present  fear  of 
strong  light. 


Concentrating  the  rays  of  the  sun 
upon  the  eyeball  with  a lens  or 
“burning  glass,”  demonstrated  to  be 
an  effective  curative  measure  in  con- 
junctivitis, iritis,  ulcers  of  the  cornea 
and  other  diseases  of  the  eyes. 


15 


"^fc. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 
liNIVEPSlTV  Of  'utMr>< 


STRENGTHENING 
THE  EYES 

//ew  CouJ'SQ 
SciQntt&c 


By 

BERNARR  MACFADDEN 


Vubltjhed  by 

Physical  Culture  Publishing  Company 

/fetu  yorK. 


PART  XXI 


Constitutional  Improvement  for  Strength- 
ening THE  Eyes 

IF  your  eyes  are  weak  or  your  sight  impaired 
in  any  manner  whatsoever,  one  of  the  first 
requirements  for  improvement  is  to  build  up 
a better  state  of  the  general  health. 

It  may  have  been  your  experience,  just  as  it 
has  been  that  of  countless  others,  that  signs  of 
weakness  of  the  eyes,  failing  of  the  sight,  twitch- 
ing of  the  eyelids  and  a smarting  and  burning 
sensation  have  accompanied  a condition  of 
depleted  vitality.  After  your  health  has  been 
restored  you  have  found  that  your  eyes  grew 
stronger  and  better,  giving  you  little  or  no  fur- 
ther trouble. 

Practically  every  one  has  had  some  such  ex- 
periences. At  all  events,  it  is  undeniably  true 
that  the  condition  of  the  general  health  is  very 
largely  refiected  in  the  eyes,  just  as  it  is  in  the 
voice,  in  the  complexion,  in  one’s  whole  mental 
and  physical  bearing.  As  soon  as  you  build  vital- 
ity, strengthen  the  nervous  system  and  improve 


2 


HEALTH  IMPROVEMENT 


the  condition  of  the  blood,  the  eyes  acquire  new 
vigor. 

The  reason  for  all  this  is  obvious.  The  eyes 
depend  upon  the  blood  supply.  If  it  is  of  the 
proper  quality  and  purity  it  will  tend  to  keep 
these  organs  vigorous,  just  as  all  parts  of  the 
body  are  thus  kept  vigorous.  If  the  blood  is  in 
poor  condition,  filled  with  impurities  and  slug- 
gishly circulated,  then  you  can  not  expect  to  keep 
your  eyes,  or  any  other  part  of  your  body,  in  the 
best  condition.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  good 
digestion,  active  elimination  and  general  func- 
tional vigor  must  be  considered  if  you  wish  to 
improve  the  condition  of  your  eyes.  In  other 
words,  constitutional  treatment  is  necessary. 

One  of  the  first  lessons  for  every  man,  woman 
and  child  to  learn  is  that  illness  is  one’s  own 
fault.  It  is  purely  a matter  of  cause  and  effect. 
Sickness  comes  as  an  inevitable  result  of  habits 
and  conditions  of  life  which  would  logically  pro- 
duce such  a result.  Health  is  merely  the  effect 
of  normal  and  natural  habits  of  life.  If  you  live 
in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  Nature  you  make 
illness  practically  impossible. 

The  truth  is  that  it  requires  more  energy  to 
be  sick  than  to  be  well.  In  a state  of  health 
the  organs  function  properly,  naturally  and 
easily.  There  is  no  special  effort  upon  the  part 
of  any  one  of  them.  Life  proceeds  smoothly  and 


3 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


easily.  But  when  one  is  sick  the  body  has  to 
struggle  against  poisons,  against  various  handi- 
caps, and  the  work  of  each  organ  of  the  body 
becomes  a serious  effort.  Sickness  means  hard 
work  for  the  body.  Good  health  means  freedom 
from  all  these  troubles.  It  is,  therefore,  far  easier 
to  be  well  than  to  he  sick. 

If  you  have  strength  enough  to  resist  illness 
and  still  live,  you  certainly  will  have  energy 
enough  to  recover  normal  health  and  to  keep  it. 
But  you  cannot  secure  health  in  a drug  store. 
You  cannot  build  health  simply  by  conversing 
with  a physician  and  paying  him  regrettable 
sums  of  money.  You  can  build  health  only  by 
obeying  the  laws  of  Nature,  by  cultivating  habits 
and  conditions  such  as  will  increase  your 
strength,  help  your  organs  to  function  more  per- 
fectly and  smoothly,  and  purify  and  improve  the 
condition  of  your  blood. 

The  cornerstones  of  health  may  be  said  to  be 
exercise,  air,  food  and  sleep. 

Exercise  is  probably  the  most  neglected  of  all 
these  vital  health  essentials.  The  first  character- 
istic of  all  life  is  movement  or  the  capacity  for 
movement.  You  see  an  insect,  a reptile,  a lob- 
ster or  any  other  animal  lying  motionless,  and 
you  wonder  whether  it  is  alive  or  dead.  Perhaps 
you  poke  it  with  a stick.  If  it  moves  you  know 
that  it  is  alive.  Our  lives  are  based  upon  the 


4 


HEALTH  IMPROVEMENT 


capacity  for  movement.  This  applies  not  merely - 
to  the  muscles  which  move  the  body  about,  but 
to  the  muscular  organs  which  maintain  the  vital 
processes,  such  as  the  heart,  stomach  and  blood- 
vessels, which  have  muscles  in  their  walls  to  keep 
the  contents  circulating. 

Forty  per  cent  or  more — that  is  to  say,  from 
two-fifths  to  one-half — of  the  weight  and  bulk 
of  the  body  in  a state  of  health  and  vigor  is  made 
up  of  muscular  tissue.  Most  of  the  food  is  con- 
sumed in  the  muscles.  It  is  inevitable,  therefore, 
that  a healthy  state  of  the  muscular  system  is  a 
prime  condition  of  what  we  call  health.  We  are 
essentially  muscular  creatures.  Therefore,  to 
permit  our  muscles  to  degenerate  and  deteriorate 
means  not  only  a loss  of  strength,  but  it  means  a 
poor  and  weak  circulation,  a loss  of  tone  in  all 
the  organs,  and  consequently  a general  impair- 
ment of  the  health. 

You  will  see  from  all  this  that  muscular  activ- 
ity is  absolutely  essential  to  health.  Inactivity 
means  stagnation.  Stagnation  not  merely  of  the 
muscles,  but  of  the  blood  and  of  all  those  vital 
forces  which  together  make  up  what  we  call  life. 
Out-of-door  exercise  is  undoubtedly  the  best. 
You  should  make  it  a point  to  get  enough  of  it. 
But  whether  you  can  spend  much  time  outdoors 
or  not,  you  should  certainly  take  enough  exercise 
of  a strength-building  character  in  your  own 


6 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


home,  or  in  your  own  room,  to  maintain  the  mus- 
cular system  in  a state  of  full  development  and 
normal  vigor.  More  detailed  consideration  of 
the  subject  of  exercise  for  constitutional  pur- 
poses will  be  given  in  a subsequent  lesson. 


t> 


PART  XXII 


Exercises  for  Constitutional  Improvement 

The  value  and  necessity  of  exercise  as  a 
factor  in  constitutional  improvement  has 
already  been  pointed  out.  Every  one  needs 
a proper  amount  of  exercise  for  the  sake  of  the 
general  health,  irrespective  of  the  effect  upon 
his  eyes. 

Without  going  too  deeply  into  the  physiology 
of  exercise,  it  may  be  said  that  there  are  two 
general  results  to  be  gained  from  any  good  sys- 
tem of  physical  training.  In  other  words,  exer- 
cise may  affect  one  in  two  ways.  It  may  have 
chiefly  a muscle-building  value.  Or  it  may  have 
what  is  commonly  called  a constitutional  or 
health-building  value.  Muscle-building  exer- 
cises are  intended  chiefly  to  build  strength 
and  enlarge  the  muscles.  Constitutional  exer- 
cises chiefly  affect  the  heart,  the  lungs,  the  vital 
organs  generally,  and,  in  consequence,  the  purity 
and  quality  of  the  blood. 

Now,  nearly  all  exercises  partake  of  this  two- 
fold purpose.  They  strengthen  and  enlarge  the 
muscles  and,  at  the  same  time,  they  build  up  the 
general  health  through  their  effect  upon  the  heart 


7 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


Exercise  i. — With  the  hands  at  the  hips  bend  far  forward 
in  the  manner  illustrated.  Repeat  five  or  ten  times  accord- 
ing to  strength.  It  is  best  to  commence  with  a few  repeti- 
tions and  increase  the  number  with  the  increase  of 
strength. 

8 


CONSTITUTIONAL  EXERCISES 


Exercise  2. — Bend  well  backward  in  the  manner  illus= 
trated.  It  is  usually  most  convenient  to  combine  exercises 
1 and  2 in  one  movement.  Repeat  as  desired. 

9 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


and  lungs,  the  digestive  and  eliminative  systems. 
That  is  why  almost  any  form  of  activity,  if  one 
secures  enough  of  it,  is  likely  to  fulfill  all  require- 
ments in  both  these  respects.  At  the  same  time 
there  are  some  exercises  which  are  particularly 
of  the  muscle-building  type  and  are  only  slightly 
constitutional  in  their  influence.  There  are  others 
which  have  only  a small  muscle-building  value, 
being  useful  mainly  because  of  their  effect  in 
toning  up  the  vital  organs. 

All  those  types  of  exercise  which  call  for  en- 
durance are  of  the  greatest  value  from  a con- 
stitutional standpoint.  In  other  words,  any 
exercise  which  may  be  continued  for  a consider- 
able length  of  time  and  which,  therefore,  keeps 
the  heart  working  energetically  and  causes  one 
to  breathe  deeply  and  freely  during  that  period, 
will  inevitably  tone  up  the  internal  organs. 

The  shallow  breathing  of  the  inactive  man  or 
woman  is  not  calculated  to  fill  the  blood  with 
oxygen,  and  the  brain  and  all  of  the  structures 
of  the  body  suffer  more  or  less  from  the  lack  of 
this  life-giving  element.  Exercises  which  cause 
prolonged  deep  breathing  will  naturally  increase 
the  oxygen  intake  until  your  entire  body  from  top 
to  toe  is  literally  charged  with  it.  This  will 
make  you  more  alive.  It  will  make  you  brighter 
and  more  energetic,  and  the  improved  circulation 
will  tend  to  tone  up  every  cell  and  every  structure 
of  the  body. 


10 


CONSTITUTIONAL  EXERCISES 


Exercise  3. — With  feet  well  apart  to  give  a better  base  of 
support,  bend  the  body  far  sideways,  to  both  sides,  five  or 
ten  times. 


Exercise  4. — Turn  or  twist  first 
far  to  one  side  and  then  far  to 
the  other  in  the  manner  inus=> 
trated.  This  is  a spine  twisting 
as  well  as  an  organ  stretching 
movement.  The  more  action,  the 
better. 


Exercise  5. — With  fists 
clenched  stretch  vigor- 
ously upward,  lower 
the  arms,  then  stretch 
upward  again.  This  can 
be  varied  by  stretching 
forward  and  sideways. 


12 


CONSTITUTIONAL  EXERCISES 


Exercise  6. — Raise  the  body  high 
on  the  toes  as  illustrated.  If  too 
easy,  do  it  on  one  foot  at  a time. 

13 


It  is  for  this  rea- 
son that  a long  walk 
is  one  of  the  best  of 
all  forms  of  consti- 
tutional exercise. 
Every  time  you  step 
you  lift  the  weight 
of  your  entire  body 
and  move  it  the  dis- 
tance of  your  stride. 
Although  there  may 
be  little  effort  in 
walking,  neverthe- 
less considerable  en- 
ergy is  consumed, 
and  the  largest 
muscles  of  the  body 
are  brought  into 
play.  It  is  because 
walking  is  accom- 
plished by  the  larg- 
est muscles  that  the 
effort  seems  easy. 
Nevertheless  it  calls 
for  a large  supply 
of  blood  and  of  oxy- 
gen. This  means 
increased  circula- 
tion and  deeper 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


Exercise  7. — Starting  in  a standing  position  with  the  arms 
at  the  sides,  bend  the  knees  and  lower  the  body  to  the 
squatting  position.  It  is  easier  to  maintain  balance  and 
requires  less  effort  if  the  arms  are  swung  forward  and  up- 
ward as  the  body  is  being  lowered,  as  illustrated. 


14 


CONSTITUTIONAL  EXERCISES 


Exercise  8. — Bring  one  knee  at  a time  upward  as  high  as 
possible  with  a snappy,  kicking  movement.  A little  more 
action  is  secured  by  swinging  the  arms  upward  at  the 
same  time.  Repeat  five  or  ten  times  or  more  with  each  leg. 

15 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


©■« 

JS 

to 

•o.Sr 

(U  v 

t c« 

3 « 
« W 
— 3 


» = 

J= 

« • 


-3  <2 

(U 


C b/)  (O 

« (O  'M 

<1>  -M  U 
JB  w O 


.ti  w) 
5^.5 

^ u 
u O 

■“S 
«« 
'M  4> 


b« 

C j5 

3i 

Is 

ON  a 

« 60 

.2  c 


16 


CONSTITUTIONAL  EXERCISES 


breathing.  Walking  for  a distance,  therefore, 
means  the  continuation  for  a period  of  time  of 
moderate  exercise  for  the  body’s  largest  muscles, 
without  involving  any  strain.  There  is  the  very 
least  expenditure  of  nerve-force  in  proportion  to 
the  physiological  benefit. 

There  are  other  forms  of  constitutional  exer- 
cise which  do  not  involve  any  severe  strain  upon 
the  muscles,  and  which  are  beneficial  largely 
because  of  their  endurance-building  quality. 
Cycling  at  moderate  speed,  hill  climbing,  rowing 
for  pleasure,  horseback  riding,  golf,  gardening 
and  other  varieties  of  exercise  may  be  included  in 
this  class.  Of  course,  some  of  these,  like  garden- 
ing or  rowing,  may  be  made  very  strenuous 
indeed  if  one  wishes  to  exert  oneself. 

The  exercises  which  we  are  illustrating  here- 
with are  useful  both  for  their  constitutional  and 
their  muscle-building  value.  They  are  particu- 
larly designed  to  keep  the  trunk  of  the  body  firm, 
strong  and  vigorous.  Exercises  that  bend  and 
twist  the  trunk  of  the  body  not  only  build  up  and 
strengthen  the  external  muscles,  thus  supplying 
the  lower  trunk  with  strong,  firm  muscular  walls, 
which  prevent  any  prolapses  or  sagging  of  the 
internal  organs,  but  they  indirectly  affect  the  in- 
ternal organs,  toning  them  up  and  making  them 
far  more  vigorous.  They  also  help  to  keep  the 
spine  and  its  cartilages  strong,  flexible  and 
youthful. 


17 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


Exercise  lo. — Lying  on  the  back  with  the  arms  at  sides, 
raise  the  legs  to  the  perpendicular  position  illustrated. 
Repeat  as  desired. 

18 


CONSTITUTIONAL  EXERCISES 


Exercise  ii. — This  is  a variation  and  extension  of  the 
preceding  movement.  It  is  a little  more  vigorous  but  also 
more  interesting.  Continuing  the  preceding  movement, 
raise  the  hips  and  back  from  the  floor  as  illustrated. 

19 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


Either  the  system  of  exercise  presented  here- 
with, or  any  other  system  which  answers  the  same 
purpose,  should  be  practiced  at  least  once  each 
day.  It  will  be  best  to  take  the  movements  in 
your  bedroom  before  dressing.  If  taken  in  the 
morning,  they  will  wake  you  up  and  warm  you 
up,  so  that  a cold  bath  will  be  not  an  ordeal  but 
a pleasure.  You  will  find  it  advantageous  to  give 
the  skin  of  the  entire  body  a brisk  rubbing  fol- 
lowing the  exercises  and  preceding  your  bath. 
If  you  do  not  find  it  convenient  to  take  the  exer- 
cises in  the  morning,  however,  they  may  be  taken 
either  late  in  the  afternoon  or  in  the  evening — a 
half  hour  before  retiring. 

Special  attention  is  called  to  the  exercises  for 
the  neck  which  are  illustrated.  There  are  two 
ways  in  which  they  are  especially  valuable : first, 
in  improving  the  circulation  about  the  neck  and, 
head;  and  second,  in  improving  the  upper  spine, 
or,  to  be  more  exact,  the  cervical  spine. 

The  question  of  active  circulation  is  always 
important.  These  neck  exercises  will  not  only 
affect  the  neck  itself,  strengthening  and  building 
up  the  neck  muscles,  but  they  will  improve  the 
circulation  throughout  the  head  because  of  the 
quantity  of  blood  sent  in  this  direction  in  response 
to  the  exercise. 

Congestion  about  the  neck  is  known  to  produce 
a ‘‘fullness”  in  the  head  with  consequent  conges- 


20 


CONSTITUTIONAL  EXERCISES 


21 


Exercise  12. — Lying  prone  with  hands  behind  the  back,  raise  the  feet  and  if  possible,  the  entire 
length  of  both  legs  as  high  as  possible.  This  involves  the  muscles  of  the  lower  or  lumbar  region 

of  the  back  and  the  hips. 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


22 


Exercise  13. — Again  lying  prone,  raise  the  head  and  shoulders  as  high  as  possible,  as  illustrated. 
This  involves  the  muscles  of  the  middle  and  upper  back. 


CONSTITUTIONAL  EXERCISES 


Exercise  14. — Starting  from  a standing  position,  bend 
down  and  place  the  hands  on  the  floor  in  the  manner  il= 
lustrated.  Then  with  a jumping  movement,  kick  the  feet 
back  until  the  body  is  straight  with  the  weight  on  hands 
and  feet.  (See  next  photo.) 


tion  in  and  about  the  eyes.  Measures  which 
relieve  this  condition  will  naturally  tend  to  lessen 
the  strain  upon  the  eyes  themselves,  making  for 
more  perfect  and  easier  sight. 

Deep  breathing,  water  drinking  and  relaxa- 
tion, as  well  as  exercise,  are  useful  for  this  pur- 
pose. Conscious  relaxation  of  the  neck  muscles 
with  deep  breathing  will  often  relieve  congestion 
in  the  head  very  quickly,  but  active  exercise  pro- 


23 


24 


Exercises  15  and  16. — Next  lower  the  body  in  the  manner  shown  in  the  upper  photo.  Push  up  and 
repeat  until  slightly  tired.  A variation  is  shown  in  the  lower  photo.  Keeping  the  arms  stiff, 
straighten  the  legs,  projecting  the  body  forward  with  the  head  well  in  front  of  the  supporting 
position  of  the  hands.  Then  swing  back  and  repeat  as  desired. 


CONSTITUTIONAL  EXERCISES 


moting  a vigorous  circulation  is  one  of  the  most 
effective  means  known  for  overcoming  either  a 
state  of  congestion  or  an  anemic  condition  of  any 
part  of  the  body. 

These  neck  exercises  will  also  tend  to  keep 
the  upper  spine  flexible  and  in  normal  alignment. 
Exercise  for  spinal  strength  and  flexibility  is, 
perhaps,  even  more  important,  generally  speak- 
ing, than  exercise  for  muscular  development,  for 
the  reason  that  the  spine  would  otherwise  tend  to 
become  rigid,  and  the  little  cartilages  or  cushion- 
like disks  between  the  vertebrae  hardened  and 
compressed.  Exercise  will  prevent  this,  keeping 
these  cushions  elastic  and  healthy.  Furthermore, 
any  displacement  of  the  vertebrae  causes  a pinch- 
ing of  the  spinal  cord,  or  spinal  nerves,  and  con- 
sequent interference  with  the  currents  of  nerve 
force,  with  more  or  less  derangement  of  various 
functions  of  the  body.  Osteopaths  claim  to  ac- 
complish very  marked  results  in  many  cases  of 
eye  trouble  through  the  proper  mechanical  ad- 
justment of  the  spine  and  the  freeing  of  the 
nervous  impulses.  Proper  neck  exercise  will  pre- 
vent adhesions  of  the  vertebrae  and  tend  to  keep 
the  upper  spine  in  such  perfect  alignment  that 
the  spinal  cord  is  free  from  any  disturbing  factors 
of  this  kind. 

If  you  have  not  been  accustomed  to  muscular 
exercise,  a word  of  caution  is  necessary  in  order 


25 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


Exercise  17. — A vigorous  and  stimulating  exercise  is  found 
in  shadow  boxing  as  shown  in  the  above  photo.  Strike 
out  forward  vigorously  first  with  one  fist  and  then  with 
the  other,  continuing  to  alternate  until  slightly  tired. 


26 


Exercise  i8. — What  is  usually  called  the  “stationary  run,” 
a running  action  without  going  forward,  is  a splendid  con= 
stitutional  exercise  and  a method  of  inducing  free  respira= 
tion  and  perspiration."  It  makes  an  excellent  means  of 
finishing  up  any  type  of  indoor  exercise.  Anywhere  from 
a half  minute  up  to  five  minutes  or  longer  will  be  satisfac=» 
tory  in  various  cases. 


27 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


Exercise  19. — A neck  resistance  exercise.  Placing  one 
hand  back  of  the  head,  bring  the  head  backward,  resisting 
the  movement  with  the  hand  in  the  manner  illustrated. 
Five  to  ten  movements. 


that  you  may  not  overdo  the  work  the  first  day, 
and  thereby  produce  a condition  of  lameness  and 
stiffness  of  the  muscles  that  is  likely  to  be  very 
discouraging.  Enthusiasm  in  the  beginning  may 
lead  one  to  take  too  much  exercise.  It  is  best  to 
try  only  about  half  as  much  as  you  think  you 
could  comfortably  do  to  start  with.  Never  carry 
any  exercise  to  the  point  of  pronounced  fatigue. 
As  you  get  stronger  you  can  increase  the  vigor  of 
your  movements. 

If  you  should  experience  any  lameness  or  stiff- 
ness of  the  muscles,  the  local  application  of  hot 
water,  or  a complete  hot  bath,  will  give  relief, 


28 


CONSTITUTIONAL  EXERCISES 


Exercise  20. — Another  neck  exercise.  Place  the  hand 
against  the  forehead  and  bring  head  forward  and  down- 
ward  against  resistance. 


Exercise  21. — A simple  neck  exercise,  bringing  the  head 
first  far  to  one  side  and  then  to  the  other,  placing  it  as 
nearly  as  possible  upon  the  shoulder  on  each  side.  This 
may  be  varied  by  a head  circling  movement,  and  a head 
turning  or  neck  twisting  movement. 

29 


Exercises  22,  23  and  24. — In  this  series  of  free  movement 
neck  exercises,  the  horizontal  position  is  assumed  so  as  to 
secure  the  natural  resistance  provided  by  the  weight  of  the 
head.  In  the  first  position,  lying  upon  the  stomach,  the 
head  is  first  lowered  as  far  as  possible  and  then  raised 
high,  as  in  the  upper  photo.  In  the  next  exercise,  lying  on 
the  back,  the  head  is  first  lowered  as  shown,  and  then 
raised  straight  upward  and  brought  over  the  chest.  In  the 
last  exercise  (lower  photo),  the  raising  of  the  head  is  com- 
bined with  a head  turning  or  neck  twisting  action,  very 
valuable  for  its  effect  upon  the  vertebrae  of  the  upper 

spine* 

30 


CONSTITUTIONAL  EXERCISES 


especially  if  followed  by  energetic  rubbing  of  the 
parts.  In  any  case,  the  soreness  will  disappear  in 
a few  days  and  should  not  prevent  your  contin- 
uing with  the  exercise. 

It  is,  of  course,  understood  that  all  exercises 
will  be  taken  with  the  windows  open,  so  that 
you  may  have  the  advantage  of  fresh,  pure  air. 
Much  of  the  benefit  of  your  exercise  will  be  lost 
if  you  breathe  stale  or  stagnant  air  while  you  are 
taking  it.  Much  of  the  benefit  and  energy  that 
you  derive  from  your  exercises  will  also  depend 
upon  how  much  energy  you  put  into  them.  Ex- 
ercise vigorously.  Put  life,  vim,  determination 
into  every  movement.  Ten  or  fifteen  minutes 
energetically  spent  in  these  exercises  will  keep 
you  vigorous  and  fit. 

In  addition,  try  to  spend  at  least  two  or  three 
hours  a day  in  the  open  air.  It  may  be  well  to 
start  with  a walk  of  one  or  two  miles.  Then 
increase  the  distance  by  a quarter  of  a mile  each 
day  until  you  are  covering  anywhere  from  five 
to  six  miles  and  upward.  If  in  addition  to  the 
vigor-building  exercises  which  are  illustrated  you 
will  make  it  a point  to  take  at  least  one  good 
walk  each  day,  you  will  have  established  for  your- 
self an  ideal  scheme  of  physical  culture. 


31 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  iiywoi 


STRENGTHENING 
THE  EYES 

//ew  Cou/tse  Jiz^ 


BERNARR  MACFADDEN 


Vublijhed  by 

Physical  Culture  Publishing  Company 

J^etv  yorfi 


Copyright  1918  by 

PHYSICAL  CULTURE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
New  York  City 


PART  XXIII 


Eating  for  Health  and  Strength 


1 

I 


CO 


IF  your  eyes  depend  largely  upon  the  condition 
of  your  general  health  and  your  general 
health  depends  very  largely  upon  the  condi- 
tion of  your  stomach,  you  will  see  that  it  is  highly 
important  that  you  make  no  serious  errors  in  the 
matter  of  what,  when  and  how  you  eat. 

What  you  eat  is  important.  Your  sustenance 
and  strength  depend  upon  it.  But  there  are  other 
important  factors  in  the  food  problem.  The 
question  of  how  you  eat,  how  much  you  eat  and 
how  often  you  eat  requires  nearly  as  much  con- 
sideration, and  people  go  wrong  in  these  matters, 
perhaps,  even  more  often  than  in  regard  to  what 
they  eat. 

The  first  thing  to  learn  is  to  follow  your  appe- 
tite. This  means  not  only  that  you  should  eat 
when  you  are  hungry,  but  also  that  you  should 
not  eat  when  you  are  not  hungry.  The  greatest 
dietetic  crime  in  the  world  is  eating  without  appe- 
tite. Do  not  eat  merely  because  the  custom  of 
the  country  calls  for  three  meals  per  day  at  stated 
hours.  If  you  are  not  hungry  when  meal  time 
comes,  or  if  you  are  excited,  nervous,  sick  or 
for  any  other  reason  without  an  appetite,  then 

3 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


do  not  think  of  eating.  Wait  until  appetite 
appears. 

In  other  words,  you  should  put  your  stomach 
on  a natural  and  not  on  a forced  regime.  To 
force  food  down  your  throat  when  you  do  not 
desire  it  and  cannot  enjoy  it  means  that  you  are 
placing  an  unnatural  burden  upon  your  stomach. 
If  you  are  not  hungry  and  your  stomach  seems  a 
little  bit  upset,  then  drink  water.  The  quickest 
relief  for  any  form  of  stomach  trouble  is  found  in 
the  drinking  of  hot  water.  This  is  an  old-fash- 
ioned, old  lady’s  remedy,  but  the  best  in  the 
world.  If  you  are  “sick  at  your  stomach”  and  the 
hot  water  induces  vomiting,  this  will  be  the  best 
thing  that  could  possibly  happen,  for  it  will  re- 
lieve you  of  the  burden  of  the  fermenting  and 
poisonous  load.  And  if  the  drinking  of  more 
water  is  followed  by  a second  vomiting,  it  will 
mean  that  the  stomach  has  been  well  washed  out. 
You  will  then  quickly  recover. 

In  any  case  the  drinking  of  hot  water  has  a 
tendency  to  flush  or  wash  out  the  stomach,  as 
well  as  the  entire  alimentary  canal,  particularly 
if  you  drink  enough  of  it.  Nothing  in  the  world 
is  so  effective  in  the  case  of  indigestion  or  loss  of 
appetite,  as  several  cups  of  hot  water,  taken  at 
intervals  of  five  or  ten  minutes,  or  even  more 
frequently,  if  you  can  take  it  faster.  I mention 
this  for  the  sake  of  any  emergency  in  which  you 


4 


EATING  FOR  HEALTH 


may  have  lost  your  appetite  or  suffered  from  tem- 
porary indigestion.  You  will  find  that  hot  water, 
taken  before  meals,  will  improve  your  power  of 
assimilation.  It  is  to  be  hoped,  however,  that  you 
will  not  need  even  this  simple  treatment  for  this 
purpose.  If  you  have  no  appetite,  the  omission 
of  one  or  two  meals  can  be  depended  upon  to  give 
you  an  appetite  such  as  even  a child  might  have 
reason  to  envy. 

Do  not  think  that  you  must  eat  three  times  a 
day  irrespective  of  appetite  just  because  farmers 
and  piano-movers  have  that  kind  of  an  appetite. 
For  many  people,  especially  office  workers,  the 
two-meal-per-day  plan  is  far  superior.  You 
may  take  your  meals  either  morning  and  evening, 
or  noon  and  evening,  as  you  choose.  This  is  no 
untried  theory.  Millions  of  people  eat  such  a 
light  breakfast  that  it  is  practically  no  breakfast 
at  all — merely  coffee  and  rolls.  Thousands  of 
others  have  found  by  experiment  that  the  two- 
meal-per-day  plan  means  a better  appetite,  better 
assimilation  and  consequently  better  health. 

Almost  as  bad  as  eating  without  an  appetite 
is  eating  too  fast.  Do  not  swallow  your  food 
without  thorough  chewing.  The  work  of  diges- 
tion is  commenced  in  the  mouth,  through  the 
treatment  of  the  food  with  saliva.  You  should 
try  to  chew  your  food  to  a liquid  before  passing 
it  on  to  the  stomach. 


5 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


On  the  subject  of  what  you  eat  one  may  well 
hesitate  to  give  any  sweeping  advice.  There  is 
no  special  menu  or  diet  that  will  suit  every  one. 
It  is  not  strictly  true  that  ‘‘what  is  one  man’s  meat 
is  another  man’s  poison,”  and  yet  there  is  a small 
measure  of  truth  in  this  old  saying.  Do  not  eat 
anything  advised  by  dietetic  experts  as  ideal  if 
you  cannot  enjoy  it.  On  the  other  hand,  do 
not  follow  the  course  of  eating  “palate  ticklers” 
to  the  exclusion  of  plain  and  substantial  foods. 

If  you  have  a normal  and  natural  appetite  this 
should  dictate  as  to  your  food  requirements.  To 
a large  extent  the  entire  problem  of  diet  may  be 
narrowed  down  to  the  question  of  eating  natural 
foods,  as  against  those  which  are  too  much  re- 
fined, or  tampered  with,  in  the  process  of  prepa- 
ration. 

For  instance,  take  the  case  of  wheat.  Wheat 
is  a perfect  food  just  as  it  is  grown.  It  will 
nourish  every  part  of  the  body.  In  the  making 
of  white  flour,  however,  much  of  the  best  nutri- 
tion in  the  wheat  is  thrown  away  to  be  fed  to 
stock. 

A similar  food  crime  is  committed  in  the  pol- 
ishing of  rice.  The  best  part  of  the  rice  is  in 
the  natural  light  brown  coating.  When  this  is 
removed  in  the  polishing  process,  leaving  prac- 
tically pure  starch,  rice  is  no  longer  an  adequate 
or  satisfactory  food.  The  same  thing  applies  to 


EATING  FOR  HEALTH 


the  refining  of  sugar.  White  granulated,  or  fine 
white  powdered  sugar,  does  not  contain  the  nour- 
ishing elements  found  in  the  juice  of  the  sugar 
cane  from  which  it  has  been  made. 

To  a large  extent,  the  nutrition  loss  involved 
in  the  refinement  of  food  is  due  to  the  wastage  of 
the  mineral  salts.  Old  books  on  dietetics,  after 
discussing  the  importance  of  protein,  fats  and 
carbohydrates  (sugar  and  starch),  were  accus- 
tomed to  refer  to  these  mineral  salts  under  the 
collective  term  of  “ash,”  and  then  to  dismiss  them. 
These  organic  minerals  form  only  a very  small 
percentage  of  any  food,  but  they  are  a vitally 
important  percentage  nevertheless.  Because 
they  are  limited  in  quantity  it  is  all  the  more 
important  that  they  should  not  be  eliminated 
from  any  of  our  foods. 

Not  only  are  mineral  salts  lost  in  the  commer- 
cial manipulation  of  flour,  rice,  sugar,  corn  and 
other  foods,  but  they  are  often  lost,  also,  in  the 
kitchen.  The  woman  who  boils  her  potatoes, 
cauliflower,  peas,  beans  and  other  vegetables  and 
then  throws  the  water  down  the  drain  commits 
an  equally  serious  food  crime,  inasmuch  as  these 
mineral  salts  are,  to  a large  extent,  dissolved  in 
the  water  and  thus  lost  when  the  latter  is  thrown 
away.  What  to  do  about  it?  These  vegetables 
should  be  cooked  in  no  more  water  than  is  neces- 
sary, and  simmered  down  so  that  only  a moderate 


7 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


amount  of  juice,  which  should  be  served  and  eaten 
with  them,  is  left.  Don’t  follow  the  cook-books 
that  tell  you  to  boil  your  vegetables  and  then 
‘‘drain.”  Too  much  cannot  be  said  about  the 
criminal  stupidity  of  this  wastage  of  iron,  lime, 
phiosphorus  and  the  many  other  organic  mineral 
salts  which  Nature  has  so  carefully  built  into  the 
structure  of  plant  life.  The  same  consideration 
applies  to  draining  water  from  other  foods. 

To  make  this  discussion  of  food  as  brief  as  pos- 
sible, therefore,  it  is  earnestly  recommended  that 
you  endeavor  to  follow  the  plan  of  eating  foods 
in  their  natural  condition  as  nearly  as  possible. 
If  cooked,  they  should  be  as  unchanged  as  pos- 
sible. Honey  is  a more  perfect,  more  digestible 
and  more  satisfactory  form  of  sweetening  than 
sugar.  Brown  sugar,  being  less  refined,  is  better 
than  white  sugar. 

As  foods  contain  elements  which  are  destroyed 
by  cooking,  the  diet  should  contain  a liberal  pro- 
portion of  raw  foods,  such  as  lettuce,  celery, 
watercress,  onions,  peppers,  tomatoes  and  fruits. 
Fruits  not  only  help  digestion,  but  they  are  espe- 
cially valuable  for  supplying  mineral  salts. 

The  question  of  meat  eating  is  one  which  may 
be  left  to  the  individual  with  the  caution  that  the 
use  of  large  quantities  of  meat  is  neither  desirable 
nor  necessary  to  health.  Nearly  every  one  would 
do  better  to  eat  one-fourth  of  the  amount  of  meat 


8 


EATING  FOR  HEALTH 


which  he  consumes.  It  may  even  be  just  as  well 
to  eliminate  meat  entirely,  if  one  uses  a sufficiency 
of  eggs,  cheese,  milk  or  buttermilk  in  the  diet. 
Lentils,  beans  and  peas  are  also  valuable  protein 
foods,  and  may  be  used  as  substitutes  for  meat. 

Milk  is  the  ideal  food  for  infants  and  young 
children.  It  should  continue  to  form  the  most 
important  part  of  the  diet  of  young  children  up 
to  six  or  eight  years  of  age,  one  quart  a day  being 
required  for  each  child.  Eggs  are  a substantial 
protein  food  and  for  tissue  building  may  be 
classed  with  meat,  fish,  poultry,  cheese,  milk  and 
buttermilk.  Many  men  and  women  who  do  not 
care  for  milk  will  find  buttermilk,  or  fermented 
milk,  which  answers  the  same  nutrition  require- 
ments, more  palatable  and  agreeable. 

Constipation  is  an  almost  universal  problem. 
It  is  invariably  the  direct  result  of  improper  diet 
and  irrational  habits  of  life.  Given  proper  mus- 
cular activity,  a natural  diet  and  a sufficiency  of 
water,  constipation  would  be  a rare  condition. 

What  then  is  the  victim  of  this  stubborn  and 
chronic  complaint  to  do  about  it  ? The  first  thing 
is  to  revise  the  diet,  using  natural  foods  and  espe- 
cially a considerable  amount  of  fruit  and  raw 
green  salads.  White  bread  is  probably  the  great- 
est enemy  of  the  constipation  victim.  An  imme- 
diate change  to  whole-wheat,  or  graham,  flour 
and  such  whole  grain  cereals  as  oatmeal  and 


9 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


shredded  wheat  will  be  helpful.  Rice,  tapioca 
and  spaghetti  are  likewise  constipating.  Maca- 
roni, or  spaghetti,  with  cheese,  is  particularly  so, 
but  when  spaghetti  and  macaroni  are  served  in 
the  Italian  style,  with  a plentiful  sauce  made  of 
olive  oil,  tomatoes  and  onions,  this  objection  is 
practically  eliminated. 

The  drinking  of  a sufficient  amount  of  water 
is  an  important  factor  in  preventing  constipa- 
tion. The  hot  water  suggested  earlier  in  the 
lesson  is  very  effective  indeed.  Laxatives  or 
cathartics  should  never  be  used  because  of  the 
detrimental  after  effects.  They  tend  to  make  the 
condition  more  stubborn.  An  enema  should  be 
used  when  necessary,  although  even  an  enema 
should  be  regarded  as  an  emergency  treatment. 
The  refined  mineral  oil,  which  is  sometimes 
known  as  Russian  oil,  and  sometimes  as  liquid 
petrolatum,  offers  a very  satisfactory  means  of 
relief  and  prevention.  It  is  not  assimilated,  and 
serves  merely  as  a lubricant. 

The  condition  of  the  alimentary  canal  is  such 
an  important  factor  in  the  preservation  of  health 
that  the  above  suggestions  should  be  very  care- 
fully studied  and  assiduously  followed.  Keep  at 
peace  with  your  stomach  and  avoid  constipation, 
and  you  will  have  little  or  no  trouble  in  building 
up  that  condition  of  vigorous  health  which  is 
conducive  to  the  strength  of  your  eyes. 


10 


PART  XXIV 


Eye  Rest  Through  Sleep 

The  health-building,  strength-restoring  in- 
fluence of  sleep  is  an  important  factor  in 
those  cases  in  which  the  condition  of  the 
eyes  is  particularly  concerned. 

Sleep  restores  the  reserves  of  nerve  force  and 
gives  an  opportunity  for  exhausted  tissues  to 
rebuild  and  refresh  themselves,  and  at  the  same 
time  may  afford  rest  for  the  eyes.  This  is  not 
always  true,  however,  because  most  people  strain 
their  eyes  during  sleep.  Persons  with  eye  trouble, 
as  well  as  others,  should  endeavor  to  relax  the 
eyes  before  going  to  sleep  by  “seeing  black,”  in 
the  manner  described  in  “Errors  of  Refraction: 
Their  Cure.”  How  long  this  relaxed  condition 
will  continue  in  the  individual  case  it  is  impossible 
to  say,  but  some  persons  report  great  benefit  from 
this  practice. 

Opinions  vary  as  to  the  amount  of  sleep  xe- 
quired.  The  truth  is  that  different  individuals 
vary.  It  is  a well  understood  principle  among 
students  of  the  subject  that  duration  of  sleep  is 
not  as  important  for  constitutional  purposes  as 
depth  of  sleep.  In  other  words,  many  hours  of 


11 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


light  sleep  are  not  as  refreshing  as  half  that  num- 
ber of  hours  of  profound  slumber.  Great  depth 
of  sleep  means  complete  mental  relaxation, 
whereas  light  sleep  may  mean  dreams,  or  a de- 
gree of  mental  activity  bordering  on  dreamland, 
which  does  not  yield  the  same  complete  relaxation 
and  the  same  degree  of  recuperation. 

There  are  two  primary  factors  involved  in 
healthful  sleep.  First,  the  surrounding  condi- 
tions, and  second,  the  condition  of  the  slumberer 
himself. 

Darkness  and  quiet  are  essential  to  refreshing 
sleep.  One  may  train  oneself  to  sleep  in  spite 
of  more  or  less  noise.  Yet  the  more  quiet  and 
peaceful  the  surroundings,  the  easier  it  becomes 
to  arrive  at  a condition  of  complete  mental  and 
nervous  relaxation.  Sounds  tend  to  excite  the 
nervous  reactions,  which  are  disturbing. 

In  the  same  way,  light  interferes  with  restful 
sleep,  for  even  though  the  eyes  may  be  closed 
the  lids  are  not  entirely  light-proof  and  a certain 
amount  of  light  penetrates.  This  light  is  more 
or  less  stimulating  and  prevents  absolute  relaxa- 
tion of  the  optic  nerves.  Complete  darkness  is 
much  more  conducive  to  sound  sleep  and,  for  this 
reason,  one  should  avoid  having  any  light  burning 
in  the  sleeping  room.  For  this  reason  also  it  is 
best  that  one  should  retire  fairly  early  in  the 
evening  and  rise  early  in  the  morning.  Sleep  in 


12 


EYE  REST 


the  late  morning,  during  several  hours  of  day- 
light, is  not  conducive  to  complete  rest.  “Early 
to  bed  and  early  to  rise,”  may  not  make  a man 
wealthy  and  wise,  according  to  the  old  saying, 
but  it  unquestionably  does  have  some  relation  to 
making  him  healthy. 

Fresh  air  is  even  more  important  than  dark- 
ness or  quiet  as  a factor  in  inducing  restful  sleep. 
The  need  for  oxygen  during  the  building-up 
processes  of  sleep  is  self-evident,  but  the  influ- 
ence of  fresh  air  as  a means  of  enabling  one  to 
sleep  more  soundly  is  not  always  appreciated.  If 
you  want  to  know  what  truly  refreshing  sleep, 
beginning  as  soon  as  the  head  touches  the  pillow, 
really  is,  try  sleeping  out  of  doors.  The  next 
thing  to  that  is  sleeping  in  a room  with  several 
windows  wide  open,  so  as  to  approximate  the 
condition  of  outdoor  life  as  nearly  as  possible. 

In  winter  bodily  warmth  is  a necessary  factor 
in  sleep.  The  feet,  particularly,  should  be  thor- 
oughly warm.  On  the  other  hand,  an  overheated 
condition  is  always  conducive  to  restlessness.  Do 
not  cover  too  heavily.  The  nerve  pressure  inci- 
dental to  heavy  coverings  is  disturbing.  In  other 
words,  while  warmth  is  necessary,  one  should 
have  no  more  covering  than  is  absolutely  required 
to  maintain  warmth.  Cotton  blankets  and  quilts 
are  extremely  heavy,  but  have  little  warmth. 
Wool  is  light  and,  whether  in  the  form  of  blank- 


13 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


ets  or  wool-filled  quilts,  is  ideal  for  cold-weather 
use.  Down  comforters  likewise  provide  warmth 
without  weight.  During  the  hot  summer  nights 
it  is  best  to  sleep  absolutely  without  covering  and 
sometimes  even  without  any  night  apparel. 

A reasonably  hard  bed  with  a good,  firm  mat- 
tress is  preferable  to  undue  softness  of  bedding. 
If  one  lies  on  one’s  back,  it  would  certainly  be 
better  not  to  use  a pillow.  A pillow  is  likewise 
unnecessary  if  one  sleeps  on  the  chest,  so  to 
speak,  or  partially  on  one  side.  This  is  probably 
the  best  position  for  sound  and  refreshing  sleep. 
If  one  sleeps  on  the  side,  then  a pillow  is  desir- 
able for  comfort. 

The  best  remedy  for  sleeplessness  is  probably 
a hot  foot  bath,  as  it  draws  the  blood  away  from 
the  brain.  This  treatment  may  be  supplemented 
by  cold  cloths  applied  to  the  forehead  in  case  of 
mental  stimulation,  emotional  excitement  or  con- 
gestion of  the  brain  due  to  any  cause.  A little 
hot  water  or  hot  milk  will  draw  the  blood  from 
the  brain  to  the  stomach. 

A condition  of  normal  muscular  fatigue  is  al- 
ways favorable  to  slumber,  and  if  you  have  taken 
the  exercises  described  in  another  chapter  and 
spent  sufficient  time  out  of  doors  either  in  walk- 
ing or  in  any  other  exercise,  you  can  almost 
depend  upon  a condition  of  healthy  fatigue  that 
will  enable  you  to  sleep  well. 


14 


EYE  REST 


The  air  bath  is  another  invaluable  means  of 
soothing  the  nervous  system  and  bringing  about 
a condition  favorable  to  sleep.  Simply  remove 
all  clothing  for  a half  hour  before  going  to  bed, 
providing  the  room  is  not  too  cold. 

In  many  cases  a walk  in  the  open  air  just  be- 
fore bedtime  is  to  be  recommended.  Although 
walking  for  the  purpose  of  exercise  should  be 
brisk  and  vigorous  in  order  to  be  beneficial,  the 
walk  before  bedtime  for  the  sake  of  inducing 
sleep  will  be  more  effective  if  taken  at  a leisurely 
gait. 


15 


liBRART 
OF  THE 

.!Nf\/FP';iTV  oMf  unrii 


STRENGTHENING 
THE  EYES 

—2^  J^ew'  Coui'se 

jn  23  Zqssojis 


BERNARR  MACFADDEN 


Pubtiahed  by 

Physical  Culture  Publishing  Company 

Aeto  y^orK 


Copyright  1918  by 

PHYSICAL  CULTUEE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
New  York  City 


PART  XXV 


Fresh  Air,  Bathing  and  Other  Health 
Factors 

IT  goes  without  saying  that  an  outdoor  nation 
will  be  infinitely  more  rugged  than  a race  of 
people  that  lives  chiefiy  indoors.  We  may 
not  be  altogether  an  indoor  race,  but  we  are  far 
too  much  so.  Great  numbers  of  people  can  meas- 
ure the  average  amount  of  time  spent  daily  in 
the  open  air  in  minutes,  whereas  it  should  be 
measured  in  hours. 

Outdoor  life  is  one  of  the  most  potent  of  all 
factors  in  maintaining  and  restoring  health.  Pure 
outdoor  air  has  a tonic  effect  upon  the  digestion, 
upon  the  quality  of  the  blood,  upon  the  nerves, 
upon  the  brain  and  upon  the  entire  organism. 
Fresh  air  in  large  quantities  is  one  of  the  first 
essentials  to  health. 

Every  one  should  make  it  a point,  therefore,  to 
spend  a certain  part  of  each  day  in  the  open  air, 
irrespective  of  the  weather.  It  is  not  sufficient  to 
spend  fifteen  minutes  or  a half  hour  out  of  doors. 
You  should  make  it  two  or  three  hours  at  the 
very  least,  and  more  if  possible.  Many  people 
will  object  that  they  can  not  find  time  for  such  a 


3 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


purpose,  but  often  it  will  be  found  that  they 
devote  more  than  the  two  or  three  hours  in  ques- 
tion to  indoor  recreation  of  one  kind  or  another. 
It  is  a very  simple  plan  to  choose  outdoor  recrea- 
tions in  place  of  those  taken  indoors.  Even 
motoring  is  commendable  because  it  takes  one 
into  the  open  air. 

The  practice  of  bathing  is  one  of  the  marks  of 
civilization,  although  primitive  peoples  instinc- 
tively take  to  the  water  when  they  have  the  op- 
portunity through  pure  enjoyment  of  the  bath. 
Bathing  has  two  functions.  It  serves  as  a means 
of  cleanliness  and  as  a tonic. 

Cold  baths  may  be  said  to  be  chiefly  tonic  in 
their  influence.  They  are  stimulating.  They 
have  a pronounced  effect  upon  the  circulation, 
and  may  be  useful  in  strengthening  the  heart. 
They  have,  however,  very  little  cleansing  value, 
unless  used  in  combination  with  plenty  of  soap. 

A cold  bath  offers  an  ideal  means  of  waking 
one  up  and  toning  up  the  nervous  system,  as 
well  as  arousing  or  stimulating  an  active  circu- 
lation. In  this  respect  it  may  supplement  any 
exercise  that  one  may  take  each  morning.  The 
cold  bath  should  always  follow  the  exercises 
which  warm  one  up  to  such  a degree  that  the 
sensation  of  the  cold  water  upon  the  skin  is  a 
pleasure. 

The  benefit  of  a cold  bath  may  be  measured 


4 


HEALTH  FACTORS 


in  a general  way  by  the  pleasure  one  finds  in  it. 
If  the  bath  is  something  in  the  nature  of  an  or- 
deal, if  one  dreads  it  and  feels  thoroughy  chilled 
both  during  and  after  the  experience,  then  it  can 
not  be  of  any  value.  To  those  who  are  of  too  frail 
a constitution  to  be  able  to  react  or  recuperate 
from  a cold  bath,  it  can  not  be  recommended.  It 
is  absolutely  necessary  that  one  should  react  with 
the  feeling  of  warmth  and  comfort  immediately 
after. 

Unless  you  are  fairly  rugged,  therefore,  do 
not  attempt  a cold  bath  except  when  you  feel 
thoroughly  warm,  and  can  take  it  in  a warm 
room.  See  that  your  hands  and  feet  are  not 
cold.  Preliminary  exercise  is  usually  desirable 
for  the  sake  of  insuring  thorough  warmth.  Fol- 
lowing a hot  bath  also  one  is  naturally  disposed 
to  enjoy  cold  water  and  a quick  cold  sponging 
or  shower  is  usually  desirable  at  such  a time  to 
close  the  pores. 

A cold  tub  or  cold  shower  will  offer  a rather 
strenuous  form  of  cold  bathing.  If  you  are  not 
vigorous  enough  for  such  measures,  then  try  a 
sponge  bath,  if  necessary,  sponging  only  one  part 
of  the  body  at  a time.  A fairly  good  plan,  if 
your  recuperative  powers  are  weak,  is  to  take  a 
preliminary  hot  foot  bath,  or  to  stand  with  the 
feet  in  hot  water  while  taking  a cold  sponge.  Do 
not  try  to  use  water  that  is  too  cold  in  the  begin- 


5 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


ning.  Use  water  of  a moderate  temperature 
at  first  and  gradually  accustom  yourself  to  a 
colder  bath.  You  will  find  it  a delightful  tonic 
when  you  have  once  hardened  your  body  in  such 
a way  that  you  can  thoroughly  enjoy  it. 

A warm  bath  in  soap  and  water  is  valuable  not 
only  for  cleanliness,  but  for  its  quieting  and 
soothing  effect  upon  the  nerves.  A hot  bath,  in 
which  classification  may  be  placed  any  bath  from 
102  degrees  up  to  110  degrees,  is  very  effective 
for  breaking  up  a cold  and  for  eliminating 
poisons  from  the  system,  in  kidney  trouble  and 
various  other  diseases.  A cabinet  steam  bath,  or 
dry  hot-air  bath,  will,  to  a large  extent,  serve  the 
same  purpose  as  a regular  Turkish  bath,  but  if  a 
cabinet  is  unavailable  an  improvised  Turkish  bath 
may  be  arranged  by  means  of  a hot  foot  bath 
taken  in  a warm  room  while  wrapped  in  blankets. 
Drinking  hot  water  or  hot  lemonade  will  help. 
The  hot  water  bath  will,  however,  answer  just 
as  well  in  many  cases  and  is  far  more  convenient. 
It  is  best  to  use  a bath  thermometer  so  that  you 
can  determine  the  temperature  beforehand. 

Air  baths  and  sun  baths  are  tonics  of  no  small 
value,  especially  so  far  as  the  nervous  system  is 
concerned.  Modern  methods  of  clothing  tend  too 
much  to  smother  the  skin.  Let  your  skin  breathe. 
An  air  bath  of  half  an  hour  or  longer  before  going 
to  bed,  or  at  any  other  time  of  the  day  that  may 


HEALTH  FACTORS 


be  convenient,  will  have  a tonic  effect  upon  the 
entire  nervous  system,  besides  stimulating  the 
activity  of  the  pores.  The  same  is  even  more 
true  of  a sun  bath.  A little  sunshine  each  day 
is  almost  a necessity.  It  may  be  said,  however, 
that  those  of  exceedingly  fair  skin  should  be 
careful  not  to  expose  themselves  too  much  to  the 
noonday  sun  in  midsummer.  The  rays  of  the 
sun  may  be  as  deadly  to  blondes  as  they  are  bene- 
ficial to  others. 

A dry  friction  rub  constitutes  another  very 
stimulating  and  refreshing  form  of  dry  bathing.' 
This  may  be  applied  either  with  soft  flesh 
brushes,  a rough  Turkish  towel  oi  by  vigorous 
rubbing  of  the  entire  body  with  the  bare  hands. 
Five  minutes  of  this  will  have  a splendid  tonic 
effect,  improving  the  circulation  and  also  the 
smoothness  and  texture  of  the  skin. 

The  condition  of  the  skin  and  the  care  of  the 
skin  are  important  because  this  wonderful  cover- 
ing of  the  body  is  not  merely  an  external  coating, 
but  an  organ  with  very  important  functions.  The 
skin  constitutes  one  of  the  channels  of  elimina- 
tion. Its  health  and  activity  are  necessary  to 
keep  the  blood  pure.  It  is  related  to  the  nervous 
system  in  a most  important  way;  our  sense  of 
touch  is  dependent  upon  its  millions  of  infinitesi- 
mal nerve  endings.  Through  the  power  of  con- 
traction or  relaxation  of  this  wonderful  surface  of 


7 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


the  body,  the  circulation  is  controlled  and  the 
body  enabled  to  adapt  itself  to  the  varying 
changes  of  the  temperature.  It  will  be  seen, 
therefore,  how  and  why  the  care  of  the  skin  is 
important. 

For  all  these  reasons  the  clothing  that  we  wear 
has  a decided  elfect  upon  the  general  health. 
The  more  porous  it  is,  admitting  the  free  circula- 
tion of  air  upon  the  surface  of  the  body,  the  more 
satisfactory  and  healthful  it  will  be  found.  Avoid 
tightly  woven  or  air-tight  garments.  They  do 
not  permit  of  the  “ventilation”  of  the  skin.  The 
loosely  woven  fabrics  are  also  much  warmer. 

A very  good  general  rule  is  never  to  wear  any 
more  clothing  than  is  absolutely  necessary.  This 
does  not  mean  that  in  severe  winter  weather  one 
should  go  about  in  a chilled  condition.  It  is  bet- 
ter, however,  to  depend  upon  a good  circulation 
for  warmth  than  upon  excessive  clothing,  or  bed 
covering.  In  summer,  the  more  nearly  your  cloth- 
ing enables  you  to  enjoy  a continuous  air  bath  the 
better. 

Open-mesh  linen  or  cotton  underwear  is  espe- 
cially recommended  for  summer.  For  those  who 
work  indoors  heavy  underwear  is  probably  unde- 
sirable at  any  time  of  the  year,  for  the  reason  that 
homes  and  offices  are  usually  heated  to  a summer 
temperature.  Comfort  outdoors  should  be  secured 
by  using  sweaters,  gaiters  and  overcoats. 


8 


HEALTH  FACTORS 


Another  factor  in  clothing  of  some  importance 
and  interest  is  the  question  of  color.  Black  and 
dark-colored  fabrics  shut  out  the  light,  whereas 
white,  tan,  light  gray  and  other  light-colored 
goods  permit  the  light  to  penetrate,  thus  giving 
one  a light  bath,  so  to  speak,  when  in  the  sun- 
shine. Light-colored  clothes  are  superior  for 
summer  wear  for  the  additional  reason  that  they 
are  cool.  White  and  light-colored  materials  re- 
flect the  heat  and  transmit  the  light.  Dark- 
colored  clothes  absorb  the  heat,  but  do  not  trans- 
mit the  light.  Black  clothing  in  the  sunshine  is 
very  hot  indeed.  It  may  be  advantageous  in  win- 
ter for  this  reason.  Some  students  of  this  and 
allied  health  problems  have  adopted  the  practice 
of  wearing  tan-colored  or  other  light  clothing  the 
year  round,  holding  that  even  during  the  evening 
the  body  receives  some  benefit  from  the  electric 
light  rays. 


9 


Part  XXVI 


EYE  HEADACHES 


PART  XXVI 


Eye  Headaches 

AS  already  mentioned,  the  eyes  and  the  whole 
nervous  system  are  very  intimately  con- 
nected; and  it  is  well  known  that  a con- 
stant strain  upon  the  eyes  will  induce  a general 
condition  of  strain,  nausea,  backache,  etc.,  in  ad- 
dition to  frequent  and  sometimes  severe  head- 
aches. Some  physicians  have  gone  so  far  as  to 
assert  that  true  and  organic  diseases  have  been 
induced  in  this  manner;  but  this  view  is  no 
longer  generally  held  by  the  medical  profession. 
Hewetson,  Noyes,  Weir  Mitchell  and  others, 
however,  have  published  numerous  facts  showing 
the  close  connection  between  defective  eyesight 
and  headache  and  general  nervous  and  physical 
impairment  of  the  health;  and  when  we  consider 
the  constant  strain  involved,  the  reason  for  this 
is  obvious.  Some  of  the  early  symptoms  are  a 
feeling  of  fatigue  and  tension,  especially  above 
the  eyes,  with  indistinct  and  confused  vision  in 
reading,  writing  and  other  close  work.  Follow- 
ing this,  slight  headaches  will  be  experienced,  at 
the  base  of  the  brain;  and  these  will  be  followed 


13 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


or  accompanied  by  nausea,  vertigo  and  general 
nervousness.  Other  physical  and  mental  symp- 
toms may  follow.  When  these  appear,  it  is  high 
time  to  begin  treatment  of  the  eyes. 

The  usual  treatment  in  cases  of  this  kind  is  a 
prescription  for  glasses;  and  there  is  no  doubt 
that  relief  has  often  been  obtained  by  their  use. 

Such  measures,  however,  are  only  palliative 
and  not  ultimately  curative.  Glasses  correct  the 
results  of  the  strain,  but  do  not  remove  it.  The 
only  real  remedy  is  to  be  found  in  the  central 
fixation  treatment  described  in  “Errors  of  Re- 
fraction: Their  Cure.”  In  the  absence  of  such 
treatment,  however,  glasses  will  doubtless  prove 
useful;  but  they  should  be  carefully  fitted  to  the 
eyes  by  a competent  oculist,  and  should  not  be 
worn  any  more  than  is  absolutely  necessary,  as 
they  serve  to  confirm  the  eyes  in  the  bad  habits 
they  have  acquired. 

Eye  headaches  can  often  be  relieved  in  a short 
time  by  proper  hygienic  methods.  It  is  hardly 
necessary  to  say  that  the  general  health  should 
be  built  up.  Massage  of  the  back  of  the  neck 
and  head  will  often  bring  material  and  instan- 
taneous relief  from  the  pain,  and  cold  wet  com- 
presses to  these  parts  will  soothe  and  relieve  the 
local  congestion.  A salt  eye  bath  often  relieves. 


14 


OF  THE 
DNfVFRSITY  OF  ii 


STRENGTHENING 
THE  EYES 


^-2^  J/ejfr  Cou/ts& 


By 

BERNAIiR  MACFADDEN 


“Pubtijhed  by 

Physical  Culture  Publishing  Company 

J^eto  y orK. 


Copyright  1918  by 

PHYSICAL  CULTUEE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
New  York  City 


PART  XXVII 


Eye  Hygiene 


Much  that  has  been  written  about  the  care 
of  the  eyes  is  erroneous  and  misleading. 
We  have  been  exhorted  not  to  read  in 
bed,  and  told  with  much  detail  just  how  the  vari- 
ous unnatural  positions  in  which  the  body  and  the 
book  must  be  held  disarranged  our  internal  ma- 
chinery. We  have  been  warned  against  reading 
on  the  train,  the  only  place,  in  many  cases,  where 
people  have  time  to  read.  Even  that  delightful 
practice,  reading  at  meals,  has  been  condemned 
in  unmeasured  terms.  We  have  been  instructed 
as  to  the  distance  which  should  intervene  between 
reading  matter  and  the  eyes,  and  even  the  angle 
at  which  the  book  we  are  reading,  or  the  paper 
on  which  we  are  writing,  should  be  adjusted. 
The  effect  of  light  has  been  discussed  endlessly, 
and  we  have  been  warned  against  the  evil  effects 
both  of  too  much  and  too  little.  Most  of  us  pay 
no  attention  to  any  of  these  instructions,  reading 
when,  where  and  how  we  please  and  can,  and 
therefore,  it  is  gratifying  to  learn,  that  none  of 
them  have  any  material  bearing  upon  the  preser- 


3 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


vation  of  our  sight.  The  essential  thing  is  to  learn 
how  to  use  the  eyes  properly.  Then  all  such 
details  as  the  foregoing  can  safely  be  left  to  the 
inclination  and  convenience  of  the  individual. 

In  the  case  of  light  there  is  much  evidence  to 
show  that  the  views  commonly  held  have  no  basis 
in  fact. 

Rabbit’s  eyes  have  been  exposed  to  the  most 
intense  light  known,  avoiding  heat,  but  subse- 
quent examination  of  the  eyes  with  the  micro- 
scope revealed  no  change  either  in  the  retina,  the 
optic  nerve  or  the  brain.  A teacher  of  fifteen 
years’  experience  complained  that  because  her 
classroom  was  in  the  basement  and  the  light  poor, 
the  sight  of  her  pupils  was  worse  at  the  end  of 
every  school  year  than  it  was  at  the  beginning. 
The  classrooms  where  the  light  was  good,  how- 
ever, had  the  same  experience;  and  when  the 
Snellen  test  card  was  introduced  into  both  the 
well-lighted  and  the  poorly-lighted  classrooms, 
and  the  children  used  it  every  day,  the  sight  of 
all  improved,  regardless  of  lighting  conditions. 
In  Germany  it  was  demonstrated  by  the  statistics 
of  Cohn  and  others  that  improvements  in  the 
lighting  of  the  schools  made  in  the  hope  of  stay- 
ing the  progress  of  myopia  did  not  have  that 
effect. 

These  and  other  observations  show  that  light 
has  very  little,  if  anything,  to  do  with  the  eye- 


4 


EYE  HYGIENE 


sight  becoming  defective.  On  the  contrary,  read- 
ing by  a poor  light  successfully  is  a rest  to  the 
eyes  because  it  cannot  be  done  unless  they  are 
free  from  strain,  while  in  a good  light  people 
with  defective  eyesight  can  read  in  spite  of  the 
strain. 

People  who  have  perfect  sight  think  very  little 
about  the  light,  but  it  is  undoubtedly  more  com- 
fortable to  have  it  so  arranged  that  no  shadow 
is  thrown  upon  the  work,  either  from  the  head, 
hand  or  any  other  object,  and  so  that  it  shines 
upon  the  page  which  one  is  reading,  or  upon  the 
desk  at  which  one  is  writing,  not  into  the  eyes. 

Protection  of  the  eyes  from  strong  light  is  not 
necessary.  In  fact,  the  light  is  beneficial,  as 
we  have  already  demonstrated.  The  glare  from 
snow  or  water  may  be  trying,  and  smoked  or 
amber  glasses  will  conduce  to  comfort,  but  no 
harm  will  be  done  if  they  are  not  worn. 

Since  the  moving  pictures  came  in  we  have 
heard  much  about  the  strain  imposed  upon  the 
eyes  by  this  new  appurtenance  of  civilization,  and 
predictions  of  dire  results  to  our  already  very  bad 
eyesight,  in  consequence  of  our  constant  attend- 
ance upon  these  exhibitions,  have  been  made. 
Theoretically,  this  view  of  the  matter  seems  a 
reasonable  one.  The  ordinary  rate  at  which  the 
film  runs  through  the  projecting  machine  is  about 
a foot  a second — sixteen  pictures  a second.  That 


5 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


is  to  say,  sixteen  distinet  pictures  are  thrown 
upon  the  screen  in  each  second  of  time,  and  the 
shutter  comes  down  and  is  raised  that  number  of 
times  each  second  also.  Between  each  projected 
picture  there  must  be  a black  period,  for  if  this 
were  not  the  case,  the  pictures  would  all  run  into 
one  another,  in  a hopeless  blur. 

It  might  have  been  expected  that  these  rapid 
alternations  of  light  and  darkness  would  be  very 
trying  to  the  eyes,  and  they  often  do  produce 
much  temporary  discomfort,  particularly  in  per- 
sons suffering  from  errors  of  refraction.  Some 
years  ago  when  the  mechanical  process  involved 
was  less  perfect  than  it  has  since  become,  the 
strain  was  probably  much  greater  than  it  is  now. 
Today  there  is  no  reason  for  supposing  that  the 
movies  are  injurious  to  the  eyes.  Instead  of 
avoiding  them  it  is  well  to  go  to  them  frequently, 
practice  central  fixation  and  become  accustomed 
to  the  flickering  light.  Afterward  other  lights 
and  reflections  from  smooth  surfaces  will  be  less 
annoying. 

The  fact  is  that  the  eye  is  a much  less  fragile 
instrument  than  we  have  generally  supposed  it 
to  be.  If  properly  used,  it  is  fully  able  to  with- 
stand all  the  strains  of  modern  life. 


6 


Part  XXVIII 

TEST  YOUR  OWN  EYES 


V.  'k-'-  ■ 


PART  XXVIII 


Test  Your  Own  Eyes 

IT  does  not  require  any  special  training,  or 
even  any  expensive  apparatus,  to  test  the 
vision.  With  the  aid  of  a Snellen  test  card 
any  one  can  test  his  own  sight,  and  with  the 
assistance  of  a second  person  a retinoscope  can 
be  used. 

A test  card,  which  is  sometimes  difficult  to  buy, 
accompanies  this  course.  You  can  also  make  one 
for  yourself  by  painting  black  letters  of  an  ap- 
propriate size  on  a white  background. 

A retinoscope  can  be  even  more  easily  made 
than  a test  card,  all  the  material  required  for  the 
purpose  being  a small  piece  of  looking-glass 
about  one  inch  wide  and  three  inches  long.  A 
small  mirror  that  will  answer  the  purpose  can  be 
bought  at  the  five-and-ten-cent  stores,  and  a 
glass-cutter,  which  is  as  easy  to  use  as  a pair  of 
scissors,  can  also  be  bought  at  these  stores.  For 
a few  cents,  too,  a glazier,  or  painter,  will  cut  a 
piecQ  of  mirror  glass  of  the  right  size.  About 
three-quarters  of  an  inch  from  the  top  of  this 
mirror,  and  midway  between  the  sides,  scrape  off 
the  silver  backing  on  an  area  a little  larger  than 


9 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


Testing  the  eye  with  the  retinoscope. 

the  lead  of  a lead-pencil.  If  it  is  a little  larger, 
or  a little  smaller  than  this,  it  will  not  matter. 
By  means  of  the  mirror  the  observer  reflects  light 
from  a lamp,  or  other  source  of  light,  into  the 
eye  which  is  being  examined,  and  the  opening 
serves  as  a sight-hole  through  which  he  looks  into 
the  pupil.  The  room  must  be  darkened,  and  the 
light  placed  a little  behind  and  over  the  head  of 
the  subject. 

When  the  observer,  who  stands  off  a few  feet 
from  the  subject,  looks  through  the  sight-hole,  he 
observes  that  the  pupil,  instead  of  being  black,  is 
more  or  less  red.  This  is  the  color  of  the  retina, 
which  is  not  ordinarily  seen,  because  the  eye  of 


10 


TEST  YOUR  OWN  EYES 


the  observer  is  not  placed  in  position  to  receive 
the  rays  of  light  coming  from  the  interior  of  the 
eye.  When  the  light  is  moved  slowly  in  different 
directions  across  the  pupil,  a dark  shadow  will  be 
observed  at  the  edge  of  the  latter.  If  the  eye  is 
near-sighted,  this  shadow  moves  in  a direction 
opposite  to  that  of  the  movements  of  the  mirror. 
If  it  is  far-sighted  it  moves  in  the  same  direction. 
If  it  is  normal,  the  shadow  remains  stationary. 
When  the  shadow  moves  in  one  direction  in  one 
meridian,  and  in  the  opposite  direction  in  another, 
the  eye  has  mixed  astigmatism.  The  shadow  may, 
for  instance,  go  with  the  light  when  the  mirror 
is  moved  up  and  down,  and  in  an  opposite  direc- 
tion to  it  when  the  mirror  is  moved  from  side 
to  side.  In  the  case  of  other  kinds  of  astigmatism 
the  observer  may  note  that  the  shadow  moves 
more  decidedly  in  one  meridian  than  in  the  other. 
When  errors  of  refraction  are  corrected  by 
glasses  there  will  be  no  movement  of  the  shadow. 

The  retinoscope  can  be  used  as  an  ophthalmo- 
scope simply  by  lessening  the  distance  between 
the  observer  and  the  subject.  The  principle  is 
just  the  same  as  that  involved  in  looking  through 
a keyhole  into  a room.  The  closer  you  come  to 
the  keyhole  the  more  you  will  see.  At  a distance 
of  about  half  an  inch,  by  looking  a little  toward 
the  inside  of  the  eye,  one  will  begin  to  see  the 
optic  nerve,  an  area  whiter  than  the  rest  of  the 


11 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


interior  of  the  eyeball  and  apparently  about  one- 


quarter  of  an  inch  in  diameter.  Radiating  from 
the  center  one  sees  fine  streaks  of  branching 
blood  vessels,  the  darker  being  the  veins,  the 
lighter  the  arteries. 

SIGHT  HOLE  It  requires  no  experience  to 
make  these  observations,  and 
children  of  ten  have  used  the  in- 
strument successfully.  The 
larger  the  pupil  the  easier  it  is, 
just  as  in  the  case  of  the  keyhole. 
The  larger  the  opening  the  more 
one  sees  in  both  cases.  The  nor- 
mal eye  is  more  easily  examined 
than  a defective  one,  and  young 
adults  than  older  or  younger 
persons.  The  light  should  be 
thrown  on  the  blind  spot,  the  en- 
trance of  the  optic  nerve,  as  the 
pupil  contracts  when  it  is  thrown 
on  the  center  of  sight.  The  red 
light  should  be  seen  constantly  in 


O 


HANDLE 

X)F 

MIRROR 


A simple  home- 
made r e t i n o - 
scope,  made  by 
scratching  a 
small  hole  in  the 
silver  back  of  a 
small  mirror,  to 
be  used  for  self 
testing  in  con- 
junction with 
another  larger 
mirror. 


the  pupil.  When  it  is  lost  the 
observer  should  withdraw  a little 
and  get  it  again,  afterward 
bringing  the  instrument  up  close 
to  the  eye. 

The  Snellen  test  card  is  an  ar- 
rangement of  letters  and  figures 


12 


TEST  YOUR  OWN  EYES 


of  different  sizes,  and  the  distance  at  which  the 
normal  eye  can  read  each  row  is  marked  in  small 
figures  above  it.  Letters  half  an  inch  square 
should  be  read  in  a good  light  at  thirty  feet  by 
the  normal  eye,  and  if  they  can  be  read  only  at 
fifteen  feet  the  vision  is  half  normal  and  would  be 
indicated  by  the  fraction  15/30,  whereas  30/30 
would  indicate  that  the  sight  was  normal.  Letters 
to  be  read  at  two  hundred  feet  are  about  3^ 
inches  square  and  those  to  be  read  at  fifteen  feet 
% inch  square.  Each  eye  should  be  tested  sep- 
arately. 

There  are  also  various  other  ways  in  which  the 
vision  can  be  tested.  If  the  subject,  when  look- 
ing at  the  letters  on  the  Snellen  test  card,  can 
remember  anything  blacker,  the  vision  is  imper- 
fect, no  matter  what  the  light,  or  the  distance. 
Another  way  is  to  squint  the  eyes,  or  to  look 
through  a small  opening,  such  as  a hole  in  a 
card,  or  an  opening  between  the  fingers.  If  this 
enables  you  to  see  better,  your  vision  is  imperfect. 
A third  method  is  to  look  at  any  distant  object 
from  the  window  of  a moving  train — a tree,  an 
animal,  a house,  etc. — and  try  to  remember  a 
perfectly  black  period.  If  you  can  not  do  so, 
your  vision  is  imperfect.  The  ability  to  remem- 
ber anything  else  will  serve  as  a test,  but  the 
period  is  the  most  convenient  object  to  use  for 


13 


STRENGTHENING  THE  EYES 


the  purpose,  as  with  it  the  accuracy  of  one’s 
memory  can  always  be  tested.  If  the  train  is 
moving  very  rapidly  the  ability  to  remember  the 
period  will  be  impaired  when  the  sight  is  imper- 
fect at  the  same  time. 


14 


CONTENTS-Continued 

NAME  OF  PART  PART 

Common  Diseases  of  the  Eye  .....  XIV 

Eye  Exercises XV 

Eye-Focusing  Exercises XVI 

Exercises  for  the  Pupil  of  the  Eye  . . . XVII 

Eye  Massage  and  Resistance XVIII 

The  Eye  Bath XIX 

Eye  Strength  Through  Sunlight  ....  XX 

Constitutional  Improvement  for 

Strengthening  the  Eyes  . . . . . XXI 

Exercises  for  Constitutional  Improve- 
ment   XXII 

Eating  for  Health  and  Strength  . . . XXIII 

Eye  Rest  Through  Sleep XXIV 

Fresh  Air,  Bathing  and  Other  Health 

Factors XXV 

Eye  Headaches XXVI 

Eye  Hygiene ^ XXVII 

Test  Your  Own  Eves XXVIII 


Copyright  1918 

By  PHYSICAL  CULTURE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
New  York  City 


